Leap of Faith
by AcaciaDawn105
Summary: Our world was over. Everything we knew...it was gone. There was no more society, no more rules. Out there, it was every man for himself. Have you ever wondered how you would fair during the apocalypse? Well, chances are, you'll end up dead, just like everyone else we knew. So many dead, so many graves, so much pain. The scars from our past lives mix with those of the present. Death
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter~ The Beginning**

I was twenty years old when the news first came about the outbreak. Everywhere, people were dying, then coming back and attacking other people, either decimating them , or turning them into monsters as well. It almost didn't seem real, but it was happening. Zombies were roaming the earth. Me and my family weren't idiots. My brothers watched enough T.V. to know all about zombies. But, it wasn't until my brother-in-law called me to tell me to get everyone together, and drive to his house and help him get mobilized that I realized, we might all die.

See, Michael was an NCO, level 5 Sergent in the army. It was him that taught me to protect myself and be prepared for anything. He had been waiting for this day for a _long_ time. I got my stepdad, Paul, to driver over to Michael's house in his truck while I took the van. Despite all the original plans for the _Dream Vacation_, we had decided that it was safer to try to defend my house rather than his. We got to his house, jumped out and immediately went to work piling things in. MREs, cem-lights, medical supplies, food, fire-starting equipment, and a multitude of weapons and ammo. Me and him planned this out a fe wyears back, before I got knocked up by his brother and we moved out...not on the best of terms. But, with the end of the world around the corner, we forgave and forgot.

When we got back , we got everything set up. The kitchen/pantry would be storage. The two back rooms would be living areas. The only windows were high up and impossible for a zombie to climb and break. The rest of the windows had sheets or towels over them to keep light from escaping. The chickens were a little harder to deal with. We had some 40-odd chickens, most of which were hens, which were all laying. Unfortunately, we had to silence them, as the zombies wer attracted to sound. We dried most of the meat, keeping two hens for laying. We also had four dogs, two border collie mix, and two rat terrier mix. They were good dogs that knew when to be quiet and knew when to bite.

Of course, things can get hairy with twelve people living in two rooms. Eventually, my sweet littly baby girl, Dawn, only two and a half at the time, started having a temper tantrum right as a heard started through. They came at us like a strom, out of nowhere. We got out go-bags and gought our way to the cars.

Tom, my husband/baby daddy had been carrying Dawn when a zombie got hold of his leg...neither of them made it. Paul got caught as well. Momma was a wreck. My oldest younger brother Collin held her as she cried while I drove all night to get out of town. I couldn't take my eyes off the road, as the tears crawled their way down my face. There was nothing left for us to go back for in that small Mississippi town.

Michael worked fo rthe National Guard while state-side, and as NCO, had the keys to the weapons vault at his unit's station. Me and him were the only ones who had regular practice with guns, or any survival, for that matter. Along the way, we checked for anyone we may have known. But, wherever we went, no one we know before survived. For a while it seemed like we were the only ones. Eventually, though, we found another group...they tried to kill us. Over the next year or so, we lost a few pople, until it was just down to Collin, Michael, Momma, my second brother, Rob, Tammy, and me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2~ Hunting**

The forest was peaceful, blissfully unaware of the fugure that stalked through the underbrush of the hot Georgia woods. Tracks on the ground lead to a buck wounded in a fight, the kind that all too often became food for walkers. As the tracks continued, the blood bacame more and more like puddles rather than drops. Slowly, ever so slowly, creeping closer to the target. The buck was in sight, laying down on it's side, it's breath labored. The figure stood tall, taking aim with the recurve bow straight at the eye. The animal's death would be quick, with no fear and no pain. This was how she hunted. Just as she let the arrow fly, someone stepped into the line of fire.

All she could think, as the bolt flew through the air, straight at the unknown hunter, was _No, no, no, nonononononono!_ The person dropped when the arrow sank into their leg, going right through and into the buck's eye.

**Daryl POV**

"FUCK!" he spun around, raising his weapon as he did.

"Whoa!" A woman strode out of the bushes, bow in the air, hands showing that she wasn't reacing for the arrows strapped to her back.

"The fuck, man!" Daryl shouted at her.

"Look, I'm sorry. You stepped out right as I let go. Now, I'm gonna put my bow down, real slow. How 'bout you do the same thing, huh?" He watched as she slowly crouched down and placed the weapon in the leaves. "I wasn't trying to hurt you, I'm sorry."

Narrowing his eyes at her, Daryl layed down his crossbow and waited. "What now?"

"I'm gonna have to take a look at your leg. Bind it up. You on your own, or do you have a group?"

"Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna kill anyone, dude. I want to take you back that way your not surrounded by strangers. I'll even split the buck with you, give you more if you got more people."

After a moment of contemplation, he answered her. "I got a group."

"Ok, that wasn't so hard. Let me look at your leg." She knelt down and had him lean against the dead animal, stretch out his leg. "Luckily for you, it went straight through and didn't tear anything important. You may not be huntin' for a few weeks. You'll have to stay off of it for a few days at least, not countin' the amount of time it takes for us to get you back." She pulled her backpack off and removed a first aid kit. Taking out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, she uncapped it and poured it on the wound. Daryl hissed as it bubbled through the hole in his leg. "Big baby. You got a name?" She started wrapping a sterile bandage around it.

"I should be asking you that question. You're the one shot me."

"Good point. Common courtesy. My name's Diane Stringer. And you?"

"Daryl Dixon."

"Well, Daryl. I'd say you're good to go for right now. Let me get this kill skinned and gutted, then we'll get you back to your people."

"You need some help gettin' that thing up?"

Diane snorted. "Honey, you ain't in any shape to be liftin' a 200 pound anything. I'm perfectly fine, you just sit there an' look pretty, kay?"

Daryl was stunned. No woman had ever said anything like that to him...actually, no one had, except maybe Merle. He watched as she cut the tendons on the back legs of the buck, tied a rope around them, threw the rope over a tree limb and hauled the carcass to the level of her torso. Cutting the throat, she stepped back and waited for it to bleed out.

"So, why don't you tell me about your group?" she said non-chalantly.

"Why?"

"Relax, I just wanna know that I'm not walkin' into somewhere that they're gonna kill me as soon as they see me."

"Fair enough. I think the kill's done bleedin'." She twisted the head and broke the neck, pulling it off and tossing it to him.

"Mind gettin' the horns off for me?" She handed him a knife with a saw blade. "So, am I gonna get blown up as soon as I let go of you?"

"Naw, Rick wouldn't let anybody get ya if you was me."

"Rick?"

"Leader of our little posse. He used to be a cop, him an' one other guy, his partner, Shane. They make the calls. Rick's gotta wife, Lori, an' a son, Carl, good kid."

"Y'all got kids?" Diane turned to him in disbelief.

"Yeah. Him an' a little girl named Sophia. Actually, Sophia's gone. A big herd of walkers came through, we was hidin', but she got up to fast an' got chased by two of 'em. Rick went after her, said he told her to go back to the highway if he didn't come back. She ran off too quick and got herself lost. I been out lookin' for her almost everyday since then."

"Oh...I hope you find her...once you're back on your feet."

"She's dead. Got bit, one o' the guys at the farm we made camp at found her, herded her into the barn where they've been keepin' family and friends that turned."

"Why?"

"They thought they were just sick, that they'd get better."

"But y'all proved them otherwise?"

"Yeah, that's how we found out about Sophia. Her momma was just..."

"Torn up?"

"Yeah..."

"What's her momma's name?"

"Carol."

"So, three guys, two women, one kid...who else?"

"Glenn, the chinaman, he does runs. T-Dog, he's all muscle. Dale, old man with an RV. Andrea, blondie, just lost her sister. There's some people that own the farm. Hershal, his farm, his kids. Maggie, oldest daughter. Patricia, second. Beth, youngest. Jimmy, he's a farmhand, Beth's boyfriend."

"That all?" By the time he had finished talking, she had the deer skinned and gutted, and was cutting the back-strap. "Hell, we don't even have nearly that many. Just me, my momma, two brothers, my brother-in-law, and his buddy's wife."

"You managed to get your momma out?"

"Barely. We've lost my youngest brother, my stepdad, my husband and daughter, a friend and his kids. Momma's sick from all this shit, she's got hypoglycimia and excema."

"She got a who in her what?"

Diane chuckled. "Sorry, low bloodsugar and skin problems. When she's outside, she has to stay cool because she barely sweats, and when she does, she breaks out. It's the salt. And when she doesn't eat, she gets faint. Recently, food's been scarce and her immune system is shot...she caught some kind of bug, can't hardly move. Me and Michael have been trying to hunt for a week. This is the first big game either of us have been able to track...walkers get to them first. Collin's been trying to find more canned goods and meds when he goes on runs. Hasn't been real successful."

"Then maybe it's a good thing you shot me."

"What makes you say that?"

"Hershal's a vet, been takin' care of those in our group who get hurt, patched me up real good. I'm sure he can get your momma back on her feet."

"Really?" she knealt down next to him with wide, hopeful eyes. "Do you really think he can help?"

Daryl leaned back a bit, not used to people in his personal bubble. "Yeah. You got a way to communicate with your folks?" Diane pulled out a morse code communicator. "Damn. Y'all actually know how to use that?"

"Yup. Michael and his buddy Kyle were in the army, they had to learn it, then taught it to us so we could keep up with each other without anyone being able to decipher it. Most people don't know morse code unless they were military. Lemme finish the deer, I'll get ahold of 'em and we'll get you back."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3~Lean on Me**

**Daryl POV**

"How far to the farm?" Diane was finishing up wrapping the meat in plastic bags.

"Not far. I was out hunting for a day and a half. About two miles, give or take. South."

Heaving up her backpack, Diane went back to her bow and strapped it to her quiver. "Alright. You ready?" Daryl nodded and tried to get up but fell back. "Hold on..." she turned and found a strong limb for him to use as a crutch. "Here, try this." Taking hold of her arm, he hauled himself up on his good leg and put the stick under his arm. With Diane under the arm above the bad leg, they set off.

It took most of the day before they managed to break out into the clearing. As soon as they were in sight, Daryl yelled for Rick and Hershal. They came running, along with several other people. He knew what they saw was strange. They're best hunter wounded yet again and being hauled towards them by a small woman in a camo cap, grey tank top, green cargo pants, and combat boots, lugging a large military style backpack and quiver.

"What the hell happened?!" Rick yelled as they neared.

"Huntin' accident. Found a wounded buck, thought I could salvage it, turned out she was trackin' it, shot right as I stepped out. Caught my leg." Hershal ushered them to the house.

As they got into the room they used for wounded, the second time Daryl had been in it. They got him down on the bed, then Rick rounded on her.

**Diane POV**

"Strip her of her weapons," the man in the cop's uniform, probably Rick, ordered the big black man and a frail looking woman with short-cropped hair.

"Excuse me? I just saved your buddy."

"You're the one who shot him in the first place. We don't know you, and I can't have the possibility of you hurting someone else."

Diane leaned around to look at the redneck on the bed. "I thought you said I wouldn't get blown up?"

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Not my place to give orders."

"Right...so, I assume you're Rick, then?"

"How do you know my name?"

"How do you think? Your boy here told me about y'all. I didn't mean to shoot him, I patched him up. He told me that my family and I would be safe here if I asked _you_ to let us stay." Rick turned and looked at Daryl.

"Why?"

"Her momma's sick. She agreed to give us the majority of the deer she killed in return for us lettin' them stay here while she recovered."

"That last bit was my idea, by the way." She raised her hand with a smile. "Look, I am _not_ gonna hurt any of y'all, just like I told Daryl. My mother needs medical attention and I've been gone far too long helpin' get this guy home. I'm sure one of the boys has managed to get themselves hurt at some point. Please, I'm not asking for you to let us stay forever, just long enough for my mom to get better."

Rick and the others stared at her until Rick turned to Hershal. "It's your farm, your rules. What d'ya say?"

"I say we let 'em stay. How many of y'all are there?"

"Six, including me. We can help with anything around here while we stay. Me and Collin spent four years workin' on our grandad's farm in Mississippi, then takin' care of the property at my house. Michael is ex-military, taught me everything I know about hunting and guns. Collin's pretty handy with a hammer, Rob's great with figurin' stuff out. Tammy can help cook, and Momma-"

"Alright, sweetheart, I get it. Y'all are helpful, and we sure appreciate it. But, for now, I'm gonna have to ask you to remove your weapons...all of 'em." She nodded, following the pair into the living room.

"Just so you know, I've already contacted my people. They know I'm here, and are waiting for me to send word that it's safe."

"Well, you can tell 'em tomorrow. Now, take 'em off." The big man, who she figured was T-Dog, pointed to the coffee table.

Shrugging, she pulled the quiver over her head, pulled her backpack off, then reached to her belt to take off the multitude of knives and hand guns that hung there. Knives came out of every crevice, guns from her ankles, and throwing pins from her hair. Seeing these, T-Dog and the woman blanched.

"What? I'm skilled_ and_ old fashioned."

"I don't think old fashioned women would agree." The woman picked one up, "How do you even use these?"

"Here, lemme show ya." When Diane reached for it, T-Dog grabbed her hand. "I'm not gonna hurt anyone, just gonna throw it at the wall." The big man narrowed his eyes at her before letting go and allowing her to take the pin. "It's a lot like a regular throwing knife, only smaller, therefore more likely to go off course. See that crack in the wall there?" As soon as they saw it, she loosed the pin, right in the middle of the crack. "And viola. Takes some practice, but it's well worth it. Most people don't expect women to carry deadly hair pins...unless they're latino. Them bitches are crazy." Placing the pin back with the rest, she stood. "So, you gonna frisk me? Strip search me? What's the deal here?"

"Uh, nothin'. Just take you out to meet the rest, I s'pose."

"Fine with me. Didn't really fancy strippin' in an old man's house, might give him a heart attack."

"That you very well might." Hershal stepped into the room, wiping his hands on a towel, Rick right behind him. "So, I'll thank you not to unless you're takin' a bath."

"How is he?" Diane asked.

"Oh, fine, fine. Thanks to your well executed first aid. Don't see that kind of meticulousness out in the woods much, or sterile bandages," he told her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"I keep a first aid kit in my bag. You're welcome to go through it. I got more weapons, ammo, and some meat that'll need to be taken care of soon."

"More weapons?" Rick asked looking at the table.

"Man, this girl's packin' more heat than all of us together."

"Where the hell'd you get all this stuff?"

"I told you, my brother-in-law is ex-military. He had keys to a National Guard station that he worked at. Got us in, got it cleared out. Made several stops at a couple others along the way."

"Are any of your group a danger to us?"

"Not really. Not unless you give us a reason to be, like threatening us, or making us feel threatened. It's not the best idea. Ex-army dog, and a kid who used to have serious anger issues, then me, all of who can and will kill someone in a heartbeat if I think they are any kind of danger to our family." They all stared at her for a moment, soaking in what she said. "Any of _your_ people a danger to mine?"

"Just Daryl, maybe, and I think you hit it off pretty well with him." Rick chuckled. "Other than that, as long as your guys know who's in charge, there won't be a problem. When they get here, they'll be stripped of their weapons as well until we're sure they won't kill us in our sleep."

"None of us are like that," Diane was offended. "We have tried takin' people in before, and each time, it was _them_ who tried to kill _us_. We have no intention of ruining a perfectly good opportunity of belonging somewhere." Shaking her head, she turned back to Hershal. "Is it ok if I go talk to Daryl, or is he too drugged up to speak?"

"Naw, he handles pain rather well." _Probably because he's seen too much of it._ "But you may have to wait 'til tomorrow to talk to him. He's...not exactly thrilled about what happened."

"I understand." Diane wasn't an idiot. She had seen the edges of the scars under his shirt, and she knew all too well what had made them. Hershal called his oldest daughter, Maggie, to take her to the bathroom to get clean. "Oh, I've got some stuff in my bag. Meat that needs to either be cooked or cured, some canned goods if y'all need any. I've got some extra clothes, so there's no need to give me any."

Maggie nodded at her, then left the room, only to return with her backpack and dumped it out on the floor. It occured to Diane that Maggie wasn't too thrilled with putting their best hunter out of commision. Looking back at the woman, she saw the look of hatred that accompanied the rough actions. She knelt down and started separating out the meat and weapons, and the clothes she would need. Weapons went back in the bag, clothes in her arms, and the meat with T-Dog to the kitchen. Maggie led her to the bathroom, then left her alone.

Diane let the water heat up as she stripped. Once her dirty clothes were piled in the corner, she shed her glasses and stepped under the spray. It had been far too long since she had a hot shower, and watched as the dirt and grime literally ran off her. The water going down the drain was nearly opaque with filth. There was a wash rag hanging on the rail, along with various soaps and shampoo. One of the soap bars smelled of lavender, which she rubbed on the rag then scrubbed her skin raw.

When she was done, she dressed and braided her hair to get it out of the way. She was met outside by a thin woman who identified herself as Lori, Rick's wife. She was in charge of getting Diane something to eat and finding a place for her to stay for the night. Apparently, since none of them knew her, she had to stay in the house under lock and key, with someone outside the door at all times.

_It's gonna be a long night._

The next morning, Diane was allowed out for the day. When Beth mentioned taking breakfast to Daryl, she offered to take it for her. They pointed her down the hall and left her alone after that. She knocked on the door, waited a few seconds, before opening it a bit.

"Hey, there. How you feelin'?" She opened it a little more when she saw him roll over and pull the blanket up.

"Like I just gone shot through the leg. Doc gave me some meds for the pain, but I can't take 'em 'til I eat." The hunter watched her through narrowed eyes as she set the tray down.

"I'm sorry." She sat down in the chair nex to the bed.

"It'll be fine. I've been through worse. Last time I went out lookin' for Sophia, I fell on an arrow. Messed my side up pretty bad. Got shot, too."

"Shot?"

"Andrea thought I was a walker."

"I see...Well, here's your breakfast, so you can take the meds right after." He grunted in resopnse and went to get the tray, but stopped when she didn't move.

"Somethin' you need?"

"Just figured I'd keep you company. I don't really know anyone else, until my group gets here this evening. None of others seem to like me very much."

"Some of 'em don't like anybody much, but that don't mean you gotta sit around here an' bug me.

"Oh, you wound me, Mr. Dixon," she held her chest in mock hurt. "And here I thought we were friends."

"I ain't got no friends."

"Really?" he nodded. "I don't think that's true. Look at all the people around here that wanna kill me 'cause I accidently shot you, though I understand that they think I might have done it on purpose." Noticing that he still hadn't moved for trying to keep the sheet over his chest, Diane got up and grabbed his shirt. "If it really bothers you that much, you could just ask me to leave."

"What bothers me?" he snatched his shirt and waited for her to turn around. "You think I'm bothered by the fact that a pretty girl is in the room waitin' to see me half naked, when I know I look damn fine."

The snark response made her chuckle. "Although I'm glad that you think so highly of your physique, that's not what I meant." She turned around when she heard the clink of silverware. "I meant the scars that you try so hard to hide from everyone, and succeed for the most part."

Daryl's eyes shot up from his food, fork halfway to his mouth. A dark looked flashed through his blue orbs. He carefully set the utinsel down, staring hard at his scrambled eggs. "What the hell you talkin' 'bout?"

"You know very well what I'm talkin' about. I'm not blind, nor am I stupid. I know perfectly well what happened-"

"You don't know a damn thing!" She stepped back as he threw himself from the bed, and got in her face. "You don't know what I've gone through and you ain't got no right to even _think_ about tryin' to sympathise." His voice was low and rough, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists. "Don't even try to talk like you jack shit, 'cause you obviously don't."

Diane's face was stoney, but her eyes held fear. "You're gonna mess up your leg more than it already is. You should probably lay back down."

"The hell with my leg!"

"You're gonna regret it in about two seconds." Sure enough, she could see the pain return to his eyes as the adrenaline started fading. "Why don't you finish your breakfast, and I'll go see if anybody needs help outside?"

"I think you better go do that." Daryl turned away from her and sat back down, grabbing the tray as she moved to open the door.

"And just so you know, _Mr. Dixon_, I do know what I'm talkin' about. I may not know exactly what you went through before I shot you yesterday, but I do know a thing or two about pain and the scars that it leaves...both visible and not." With that, she left, closing the door firmly behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four~ Attack**_

Coming out tf the house, Diane couldn't help but take in the beautiful sceanery. It reminded her of home. They had come from a big family, so seeing lots of people milling about, doing daily chores made her feel sort of warm and fuzzy inside. But, that was corny. In this world, there was no room for cute things and warm feelings, so she tamped the feeling down. Tomorrow, her people would be here. Tomorrow, she'd get to see her mom and brothers again. Until then, she'd just have to keep herslef busy. On that note, she stepped off the wrap-around porch to ask around.

Unfortunately, all the chores were taken care of and no one needed help. But, there was a nice strawberry field a little ways off, and she asked Hershel for a basket so that she could pick a bunch for a healthy dessert. At this point, anything fresh was a delecacy. The downside was that someone had to go with her to keep an eye out. Make sure she didn't run off, or something of that nature. And to her eternal dismay, it had to be the one male she dispised in th whole camp...Shane. He was the only one unoccupied and not on guard duty. Off they went.

Diane hummed a sweet tune as she bent over another patch, something along the lines of Greensleeves, but not quite. Her basket was almost full as she weeded out the juicy, ripe berries, picked off the rotten ones, and left those still growing. She could feel Shane's ever watchful presence, but it was unnerving and slightly worrisom. Especially as he got more and more antsy waiting on her to finish up.

"We just about finished here?" She could _hear_ his itchy trigger finger.

"Almost. I want to make a treat for everyone, and unfortunately, that means a lot of berries for a lot of people."

"You're takin' too damn long. C'mon, bitch, we gotta get back."

"Ok, first off, we can still see the house. If something happens, we can run back to the others. Second, don't call me _bitch_, alright? It's not a gentlemanly thing to say to a lady."

"You certainly ain't no lady. And that ain't the only ungentlemanly thing I'm thinkin' about."

She snorted, "Yeah, I'm sure. Look, I'm not really all that interested in what you're thinking about, ok? Just let me fill up the asket, and we'll go back to where all the eligable _ladies_ are, and you can take your pick."

"Oh, darlin', I don't think you understand. It's only because of me that you aren't tied to a bed...although, that ain't a half-bad idea."

"Listen, creep, you have nothin' to do with that." When she turned around, Diane found herself nose to nose with a bent over Shane. "What the fuck?!" She jumped back, knocking over her basket. "Back the fuck up there, pal."

"I'm the sole reason you're not dead in a ditch somewhere, sweetheart. And, as such, I think you aughtta show a little appreciation. Huh?" the man grabbed a fistful of hair, illiciting a small yelp, "Whatcha think about that?" Forcing her down, he made a move for her blet. The girl attempted to pry his hands away from her pelvis...to little avail. "I told you. You owe me, c'mon, pretty lady."

A scream managed to work it's way from her throat when he bit down on her collarbone, then punched her in the mouth to keep her quiet. Shane's big hands tore through her tank top like tissue paper. Realizing she only had one chance, Diane began intching her hand towards her boot. Yanking free the one weapon she hadn't remebered to give up, she knocked Shane over the head with her knuckle-knife. Once he rolled off, she bolted up, only to catch her foot on a rock and twist her ankle, though she managed to get up again and hobble on. When Diane could finally see the camper, she screamed.

"Help! Please, somebody, help!" At the sound of the new girl's pleas, the rest came running. Diane reached Lori first, Shane not far behind.

"What happened?!" Diane found herself in the older woman's embrace. As soon as she was, she dropped the knife on the ground before her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I got scared." She buried her head in a bony shoulder.

"Sorry for what? Huh?" Shane scooped up the knife. "Attackin' me when I had my back turned, you little bitch?"

"Shane, calm down. What happened?" Rick put himself between the two.

"What happened? Didn't I just say what happened? That little cunt attacked me!"

Lori glanced at the shaking woman that kept muttering 'I'm sorry', a worried look furrowing her brow.

"The hell she did!" the screen door slammed, Portia followed with arms outstretched to a limping Daryl. "Saw the whole thing from the window, you sick sumbitch. Asshole jumped her while she was picking fucking berries up on the hill."

"Then why was she still carrying a knife?" Maggie crossed her arms, not impressed with Daryl's defence of the newcomer. "She was told she couldn't have any weapons."

"I'm sorry. I...I was scared. I forgot I had it until...Michael made me always wear one in my boot. I got so used to it, I forgot it was there. Please, I promis, you can keep it, I didn't do anything."

"You knocked me out...or tried to at least."

Dale didn't seem convinced. "And yet that seems to be the worst of your injuries. If you were it and dazed, why would she run back here on a bad ankle?" he gestured to the leg she was favoring. "On top of that, if she ran right after hitting you, then what's all that? You didn't catch up to her until just now."

At this, Daryl used his crutch to hobble towards the hiding girl and grab her face to turn her around. The sudden movement scared her and the whimpered in pain from the pressure on her swollen jaw. "Damn! Sorry." Then, he spotted the bite mark. "What the fuck, man?!" He pulled her shirt farther off her shoulder to expose the bleeding wound.

"She was bit. I was tryin' to protect the group."

"You fucking liar!" Diane launched herself at him, managing to get one good lick in before she was pulled to the ground by Dale. "You're lying. You tried to rape me, you creepy douchebag! He bit me, tried to hurt me." She curled in on herself. "Never again. Never, never," she began rocking back and forth, muttering.

Checking again, Glenn stood up, that bite's too clean to have been a walker, too small. There would be some meat missing if it was. Plus, when would it have happened? You were with her the whole time, you would have seen something, because that wasn't there when y'all left."

"Why the hell are y'all takin' her side? The bitch ain't even one of us."

"Shane," Hershel stepped in, "this is my land. Anyone on it is under my protection, and she is. Whatever reason you _think_ you had to attack Miss Diane here, you were sorely mistaken. Now, I suggest you keep your distance from her, least she succeeds in knocking you out, or worst." Leaning down, Hershel helped her stand and led her into the house to treat her wounds and clean up the blood that was dripping from her nose and lips.

Once they were gone, Rick turned on his best friend. "What the hell were you thinking?" Shane stuttered at the sudden animosity. "I don't care what you think was happening, what she may have said or done to piss you off. What do you think is gonna happen when her people get here and see her all bloodied up? Hm? Because I'm pretty damn sure they won't think twice about killing one or all of us. They haven't gotten this far without doing it before."

"Look, man, I honestly don't know what came over me, I thought-"

"Yeah, you _thought_. That's where you went wrong. How do you expect any of them to trust us if shit likes this happens? Next time, if something happens, you bring it to the attention of the whole group. Do you understand me?" Rick was right up in his face.

Without saying anything, Shane just nodded, thouroughly admonished. _Stupid bitch._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5~ Guns and Meds**_

Luckily, her ankle was only twisted. Hershel's official diagnosis was that she'd live to fight another day. Although, her busted lip and the bite mark did need some antibiotic ointment just in case. To make sure that Diane's and Shane's paths didn't cross for the rest of the day, he was made to stay outside. However, her strawberry basket was found and brought to her so that she could busy herself with something nice. Diane wouldn't speak to anyone all evening, and dismissed Patricia's offer of help with a simple wave of a hand. At the end of the night, when dessert was brought out and everyone seemed to make a big deal out of the delicious mini-pies she had made, she simply gave them a broken smile and drifted up to her room.

The next afternoon, her convoy made their way up the drive, everyone holdig their breath in anticipation. Shane had insisted that they keep half their guns trained on Diane, the other half at the ready just in case things went south. Three vehicles stopped, one after the other, in front of the porch. First person to step out was Michael, his face set in a hard expression, and an M16 in his hands. Collin, the older brother, sat in the back of the truck with most of the supplies, eyeing the way Shane had his piece stuck in his sister's back.

Michael hadn't taken more than three steps before he was stopped by several guns pointed at him. "That's far enough," Rick gruffed.

"We were told we'd be welcome here, that our sick would be cared for." Michael took another step.

"And I said, that's far enough. If you want sanctuary, there are certain ruls that need to be followed."

"Anything. Please, we just need some help."

"You might want to listen to them before you agree." Shane shoved his shotgun into Diane's back. She was really starting to hope he got stuck in a herd.

"Jesus fucking Christ. What happened to you?" her brother-in-law had finally gotten a good look at her face.

"I fell into a tree," she managed to shoot a venomous look at the man with his gun digging into a muscle.

She could see both of the visible men narrow their eyes. "Is that so? Hm...you need to be more careful."

"As I was saying," interjected the cop, "First: you must give up _all_ weapons. Guns, knives, whatever. You'll get 'em back when you leave. Second: you camp away from us." He looked around. "Over by that pasture, inside the fence. Third: if you pull your weight around the farm during your stay, you are welcome to share the bounty."

Michael's eyes were thoughtful as he contemplated the pros and cons of the agreement. "What about payment for Leah's treatment?"

Hershel stepped up before anyone could speak. "As long as you work, it's free. I'm not about to charge a sick person to get better. Especially these days."

"Deal." Michael whistled and beckoned the others. First out were the two boys with their heads constantly on a swivel. Next was Tammy, who helped Leah out. The older woman was in her early 40s, and had once been slightly heavy-set, with bright grey eyes and soft brown hair. Now...she was a ghost of her former self. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, her hair lank and caked with dirt and grim. Her once fair skin was sallow, with her bones nearly poking through.

"Pile your weapons on the ground, we'll log them and keep 'em safe until it's time for you to leave."

"What?" Colin readjusted his grip on the shotgun, "We aren't-"

"Yes, we are, Colin." Diane told him in a soft, yet firm voice. "It's alright, they're the good guys, we can trust them...most of them." She muttered the last bit, which earned her a hard poke.

"But-"

"No 'buts', butts are for sitting." Colin and Robert rolled their eyes at their sister's lame attempt to lighten up the situation. But, they did as they were told.

By the time all the weapons were piled on an extra tarp, it was obvious that they were much better of weapon-wise. Most of the guns were military grade, while everything else was knives or improvised weapons.

Hershel went to Leah and Tammy, taking the ailing woman's arm. "Madame, my name is Hershel Green, I'm gonna be overseeing your care while you recover."

"Are you a doctor?"

"I was a verteranarian before all this."

"Better than nothing, I suppose. Is there somewhere I can lay down?"

"Of course, dear. Come on in."

"Hold up!" Shane got up in her face. "How do we know she ain't bit?"

"I'm not."

"So, we just s'posed to take you on your word? Last person who looked like you do now, ended up as a walker on the side of the road." He turned back to Rick. "I say we check her. For the safety of the group."

"Patricia can check her when she helps her get cleaned up." Hershel didn't much like Shane to begin with, especially after yesterday's debacle. "We've got warm, running water. My girl here's gonna take care of you."

"Thank you. Bless you all." As she was lead away, tears leaked their way down Leah's face.

"Alright, you've got our stuff, none of us are infected. Is there a snowballs chance in Hell that we can all get cleaned up?"

"You're gonna have to wait for the lady to get out. That's where she's going now. For now, we can help y'all get set up and then see what we can do about getting you a real meal." Lori smiled at the two young boys, both of whom were just as emaciated as their mother and sister.

"That sounds nice," Robert was already drooling.

Colin chimed in, "Hey, you guys got any meat that didn't come from a tree?"

Beth giggled, "You bet. We got pigs, and cows, and chickens." By the time she finished, he was drooling, too.

The only ones not in a jolly mood were Shane (obviously), Diane (who would be with a gun still in their back), and Michael (who was silently observing the whole scene...expecially the fact that a deadly object was still pointed at one of his own). Rick nudged his friend, who finally relented in his steely gaze. Once him and Rick left to help the boys unpack, Michael moved in.

"What really happened?" he whispered.

"I'll go into detail later. Right now, all you need to know, is do not trust Shane."

"Which one?" she gave him a pointed look, "the gun-happy asshole?"

"Bingo. I'm not hurt to bad, just shaken up from it. The rest are good people." Sighing, she moved towards the truck. "Better get a move on. The faster we get this done, the faster we can get y'all cleaned up and fed."

"That does sound nice," Michael placed his arm around her shoulder as they continued. "Eating out of a can gets old after a while."

"No kidding."

Later that evening, when everyone else was done eating, and the girls were all cleaning up, Diane made her way upstairs with a tray of broth for her mother. Hershel had just given her some medicine to help her sleep, and it was almost taking affect when she finished up the soup.

"My sweet, sweet baby. I love you so much. you have no idea how lucky I am to have been blessed with such wonderful children. Anyone else would have just left me behind for the monsters to eat. but, no...you, saved m...me." Leah's eyes began drooping, "Such a good baby." Then she drifted off. Diane sat with her for a while, just stroking her now clean hair gently.

"I love you, too, momma. Sweet dreams." She kissed her forehead.

"How is she?" the girl spun around suddenly. Daryl was leaning up against the doorframe. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

"No, it's ok. I'm just...a little jumpy."

"Small wonder. After what happened." He nodded his chin towards the woman who now lay asleep. "She ok?"

"I think she will be." A small smile graced her lips. "She's tough as nails, that one, she'll pull through. She has to." Turning back to the rough man, she sighed, "I don't know what I would do without her. She's my mom. I used to think I could do without anyone. I mean, I love people, always have. But, I used to think that if something like this ever happened, I could drop them like a ten ton stone. If someone got bit, I could shoot 'em with no remorse. I learned _real_ quick, that ain't the case. I can't just dump my mother, can't live without her right now. Not after..."

"After what?"

Diane glanced up at him with tear-bright eyes. "My husband and baby girl. They were the first ones I lost. She was already dead and he was about to be...from blood loss. So, instead of letting him suffer, I ended it..." Sniffling, she turned to gather up her mother's dishes. "But, it doesn't matter now. They're gone, and nothing can change that fact. Truth is...momma, the boys... they are the _only _reason I'm still alive today. If it hadn't been for them, I'd probably have gotten caught up trying to save some other poor bastard and managed to do away with myself in the process."

"Optin' out ain't an option?"

"Nah, never was. Even when teenage me thought that being swatted by my stepdad, or constantly tormented at school was the worst thing in the world, leaving everyone else to mourn my mistake was never an option. I'm a survivor by nature. Even when I wish I wasn't." She sighed.

"Well, maybe that's a good thing. You survive, you help your family survive too. If makin' it is the best you can do...hey, at least you're makin' it. I guess there's somethin' to be said about bein' too dumb to die."

"I guess there is." Diane gave him a gentle look. "Thanks, Daryl. For the talk...and for yesterday."

Daryl looked to the floor, clearing his throat. "Don' mention it." He rubbed his head, moving around so he could stumble out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6~ Randall**_

With more people came more food, and more medical chekups. Carl still needed regular checks to make sure he was well and truely healed. Daryl had only just been back on his feet when Diane shot him. Leah's predisposition left her weak and fragile. According to Hershel, she had been way to close to system failure when they pulled up. Along with all that, all the boys had some sort of problem or another...which they all found out the hard way.

They had been moving lots of heavy supplies, when suddenly, Rob dropped to the ground gasping. Colin cussed and called out for Michael. Everyone gathered around trying to figure out what was going on. Michael and Tammt were rummaging through their packs looking for some small object.

"Where is it?" Tammy yelled in frustration.

"He used the last of it weeks ago!" rubbing his brother's back, Colin's eyes darted around.

"What's goin' on here?" Shane broke through the crowd. "Y'all ain't supposed to be slackin' off."

"Shut the hell up," Michael got up in his face. "Boy's got asthma. He can't _breathe_, and we don't have any medicine."

"I got it!" Diane ran down the steps. "Bubbu, I'm here, I'm here." She knelt down and held up the red container to the young boy's lips. The albuteral hissed as he inhaled. "I managed to find a few inhalers the other day when I was scouting ahead. Shh," Rob finally got his breath.

"Thanks, Sis." She gave him a gentle smile, then hugged him around the shoulders. "How many did you get?"

"Five or six, all with 200 puffs in them. That should last you a while...at least until we can find some more."

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Y'all get back to work." Michael and Diane both flipped him the bird as he started to walk away. "I saw that."

Daryl managed to make his way off the porch without help, then nudged the dark-skinned boy with his hand. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Me and Sis both got asthma, but mine's worse. For me, just being out here is a flight risk, especially without medicine."

"What kind you need? Other than inhalers, that is."

"Montelukast and Zyrtec. Unfortunately, there are lots of people with asthma, and all of the places we've been were cleared out. Nothing, not even Benadryl."

"Damn. Maybe, when I'm healed up, me and your sister can go find some. There's some places 'round here that we ain't picked through yet."

"That'd be cool. Bring me back a souvenier." Diane scoffed at him. "What?"

"You are such a dork. You say that all the time."

"Yeah, well, I alway wanted a souvenier. And no one ever brings me one."

Hershel came out of the house, having heard what happened, with a stethescope around his neck. "Let me listen in on you lungs for a second, gotta make sure you're ok." Rob nodded and sat still for the older gentleman. He nodded, "Sounds good." Then he turned to Diane, "You next."

"Why?"

"I heard him say you got it too. Gotta make sure you're breathing alright." He moved towards her with the little metal circle. "Ok, now, I want you to breathe in. Nice, big breath. That's it." They sat in silence for a moment. "You've got a little rattle in there. How long has it been since you used an inhaler?"

"Couple of months. We havn't been able to find much. And what we do find, Robert uses them, because it's worse for him."

"You still need to be using one, and we need to find you some meds, because it's just gonna get worse and worse if you don't."

"I'll be fine. Got this far, havn't I? C'mon, Bubbu, let's get you laid down for a bit." The two siblings moved away, towards their camp. Diane looked back to find Daryl staring after them. When he realized he's been caught, he looked down at his shoes.

Days went by, slowly becoming cooler. All of the new group tended to stay clear of the others, unless they were helping them with work. Michael kept a close eye on all of them, but especially on Diane and Tammy. The latter didn't care much, since she was a bit timid and didn't like the look in Shane's eyes. However, by the end of a week and a half, Diane was a whole nother story. Finally, she cornered him in the barn.

"What the hell?"\

"What?"

"Don't you 'what' me? You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"I'm just tryin' to keep you safe."

"Safe? From what? Shane? Damn it, Mike, I can handle that asshole."

"Yeah, because you did that so well last time."

She got up in his face, "Don't you _dare_! He wouldn't dare try anything after all that. Not with everyone watching his every step. Hershel and Rick have agreed to let me carry a knife after that whole debacle. And he knows very well how easily I can deal with just a knife."

"Di, you are the only thing I've got left."

"You've got Tammy, the boys-"

"No, you don't understand. You're the only family I have left. You are the only one I can't live without. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. You keep me alive. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let some mad man ruin what we have."

"What? Michael, what the hell are you goin' on about now?" she realized he was getting closer and closer, "Dude, back up, now. Quit it, you're scarin' me."

"Diane, you and I...we had chemestry before the world went to shit. I know you felt it back then. That's the only reason you kept coming around."

"No, I kept coming around becuase I loved Tom. You and I were good friends, the kind that might as well have been siblings. Yeah, at one point, I did think I would've been better off with you instead. After a while, I realized that we connected really great, but if we ever tried to make it work as a couple, we'd kill each other. You know that just as well as I do." Diane put a hand on his chest in an attempt to stop him from coming any closer. "Mike, stop. Please."

"I loved you then, Diane, and I love you now. It killed me when you two told me you were pregnant. I will never get the chance to have a child, and now, you had a permanant bond with him. One that I could never have with anyone, let alone you." He put a hand in her hair, bringing her head closer to his. "I love you, more than he ever could, and I can protect you better. You know damn well that I can protect you better than that prick."

"Stop it!" she yanked herself away, turned, and saw Daryl standing in the doorway. She knew what he saw. He didn't see a diagreement between two people with two very different ideas of their relationship. No, he saw a man who had been with a woman for nearly six months, the two that watched each other's backs, locked in an imbrace, so close they were almost kissing. Maybe he saw a playful banter where the man tries to kiss the woman and she pulls away to tease him. Whatever it was, Diane saw a strange look in his eye. "Daryl-"

"Walk away, man." Michael pulled her closer. "This doesn't concern you."

"Don't worry 'bout me, _man_. I'm just passin' through. See ya later..." when he turned to leave, Diane could just barely hear him mutter, "Freakin' whore."

Looking back at the man that still held, the man that she always thought of a a brother, she realized he might just be as crazy as Shane. "Let. Go. Of. Me...now. I swear to god, if you don't-"

"What are you gonna do? Everything you know you learned from me."

"That's not true." Diane pulled her knife out and bashed him in the back of the head. When he was on the ground, she leaned over him. "I told you, I loved your brother. I love you too, but not like that. If you would just listen to me, I wouldn't have had to do that. Now, I don't know what the _fuck_ is going on in that messed up head of your's, but you better listen, and listen well. You and I are never going to be together. Not because I don't care for you, but because you are my brother, you are my friend, and Tom is still in my heart. I will never love you like I loved him." With that, she walked away, tears in her eyes and pain throbbing through her chest. _Betrayed again, hurt again._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7~ Run Down**_

That night, Diane couldn't stand to be around her group, but neither was she welcome in the one, so she walked. It was late, and everyone else was in bed, and the peace was nice. She had always been surrounded by people, noise and rush. For there to be complete silence, it was lovely. Out here she could see the stars, especially with no light pollution, they were so bright and beautiful. Constellations like she'd never seen before, and it took her breath away. Diane climbed up on top of the barn and laid back. Out of habit, she started singing to herself. It was something she'd done since she was young, whatever situation she was in, she always had a song in her head to fit.

_*From underneath the trees, we watch the sky. Confusing stars for satellites_

_I never dreamed that you'd be mine. But here we are, we're here tonight_

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive. Singing Amen, I, I'm alive_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_And I'm singing. Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive_

_Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive_

_And in the air the fireflies. Our only light in paradise_

_We'll show the world they were wrong. And teach them all to sing along_

_Singing Amen, I, I'm alive. Singing Amen, I, I'm alive (I'm alive)_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_And as we lie beneath the stars. We realize how small we are_

_If they could love like you and me. Imagine what the world could be_

_If everyone cared and nobody cried. If everyone loved and nobody lied_

_If everyone shared and swallowed their pride. Then we'd see the day when nobody died_

_When nobody died..._

_We'd see the day, we'd see the day. When nobody died_

_We'd see the day, we'd see the day. When nobody died_

_We'd see the day when nobody died*_

She had always loved that song...and it seemed to her that right now it fit better than ever. Between the dead rising up and the living always seeming to have some sort of malicious intent, she couldn't trust anyone. Not even the man who had her back through everything. That was the man who had held her the day Tom and Dawn had died, when they finally stopped. He didn't say anything, just held her and rocked her back and forth. Yes, she had once felt something romantic towards him, but that had quickly faded out when they would sit up at night and just talk. Many a time, he would tell her that he could have any woman he wanted, and that included her. But he would never do that, because she was his brother's girlfriend. The thing that she always had an issue with was that he was over-confident. That remark, that he could have any woman, had made her feel like he was telling her that he could and would trade her up at the first chance. Granted, he probably wouldn't, but she wouldn't give him a chance.

"Aw, shit. Would be you," she sat up quickly, noticing Daryl at the top of the ladder.

"What are you on about now?"

"Came to see who was up here, makin' all that racket. Pfft, figures." He made to leave.

"Don't..." the scruffy man stopped and stared at her. "Don't go. I'm sorry if I woke you up. I couldn't sleep."

"Obviously." Daryl hoisted himself up, settling down.

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes. "The last couple of days...I've just been through a lot."

"Who hadn't?"

"That's not what I mean." Diane sighed. "You know what, nevermind." She stood, brushing the hay off her ass, "It's not like you care." As she passed him to get to the ladder, his hand shot up and took hold of her wrist.

"Sit the hell down." He gently pulled her back down, this time closer to him. "What's goin' on? The fuck's got your panties in a bunch?"

With a sideways glance, she basically flipped him off. "Mike..."

"Ain't that your husband's brother? Damn girl, you move on quick. So, what's wrong with your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" she stopped for a second, "God, I sound like a teenager again. Michael and I are not in a relationship. He thinks we should be, but I can't. Not with him. I knew back before the zombies came along, that even if me and Tom didn't last, he would not be on my list of guys I would end up with. I love him just like I love Colin and Robert, but no more. He's had my back through thick and thin, and I had his."

"So, what was goin' on earlier?" It was a moment before she could respond.

"That was him doing basically the same thing that Shane attempted to do. I am very popular, apparently."

"Apparently so. So, y'all ain't...?"

"No, I couldn't, even if I wanted to. Love is a funny thing."

"Eh, I wouldn't know."

"Really? There wasn't a sweetheart back wherever you were before shit hit the fan? No little lady to warm your bed?" she nuged his shoulder playfully.

"Shit naw. Who the hell'd want a crazy sumbitch like me?"

"Oh, I dunno. You're kinda handsom, in your own way. That sort of bass-akwards rugged good looks that make awl the good city girls go wild." The last bit, she dropped a southern belle accent. Going back to normal, she told him, "In all seriousness, you shouldn't put yourself down like that. You never know when life is gonna shove love at you." She pulled her hair out of her ponytail, for which her scalp thanked her. "Anyway," she rubbed her head to loosen the wavey locks, "how's your leg?"

"Better, thanks. Doc fixed me up good. Said I'll be out hunting again in a few days."

"That's great. I'm sorry...again, for shooting you."

"Don't be. Probably for the best, y'know. Wouldn't have met you otherwise. And y'all'd be stuck out there still, your mom might be dead."

"True. Thank you for trusting me enough to bring me and my family here." She stood up again, leaned down and kissed Daryl's cheek, before hurrying down to the ground and miandering along to her tent.

From the top of the barn, she heard a faint, "What the hell?" And she smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight~ This Time For Real**_

**A/N: So, I realize that it's been a minute since I updated this story and I apologize. I also realize that I have gotten really off track with the events of the season, and I had actually had this chapter written very differently. However, my computer that it was on crashed, and I had a copy on a flash drive and guess what...that has managed to grow a pair of legs and disappear too. So...here we go. No more bunny trailing. To the story!**

Everyone was moving into the house because of the coming autumn. Between Dale's death to a walker attack, and the fact that cattle were being killed left and right across the acreage of Hershel's land. Hershel had given up his room to Rick and his family, as they had recently found out that Lori was pregnant. Randall, the young man whose people had attacked them, was chained up in one of the sheds healing. The vet had done a pretty good job of fixing up his leg, despite the fact that the fence had gone through bone, meant, and even artery. Of course, Shane was rather strongly of the opinion that they needed to kill him then and there. The first attempt to take him out a ways and drop him ended with the revelation that he knew Hershel's family and where their farm was. Shane and Rick got in a fight, and then an group of walkers attacking them. In the weeks that had passed since he became their prisoner, the group had grown closer. Diane's group was welcomed into the fold, weapons were redistributed to them so they could help protect the farm. Diane and Collin had actually gone into town for a run. They rode back through the fence in Diane's car from before the fall, a black Ford Focus that was practically brand new when she got it. The windows were rolled down and they were hooping and hollering as they sped down the driveway. Skidding to a stop, everyone gathered around vehicle, curious as to what had made them so happy. The car was unloaded, a huge supply of winter clothing spilled out of bags and boxes, something for everyone there.

"Ladies, if you'd be so kind as to gather around on the other side of the car!" Diane waved them over.

"What'd you find?" Leah was up and walking again, much to everyone's joy.

"Ok, so you know we've been having problems with...y'know, keeping our pants you, Lori, obviously."

Lori chuckled, "Yeah, obviously."

"There was a house on the other side of the town, apparently it was filled with women, because I just hit the _motherload_ of women's products!" Grabbing two bags that had been left in the car, she opened them up to show them the variety of pads, tampons, midol, panties, and hair ties.

The women started exclaiming in excitement. Rick had come over to see what the deal was, and was greeted with the sight of things he'd never thought he'd see again. "Well, I'd say you ladies are pretty well off for the next few months." He chuckled, not in the least bit put off by the thought of that time of the month, a true man. "You find anything that might help with the baby?"

"Oh, _did_ I?" Rummaging around, she pulled out a smaller bag, dumping out the contents to show a couple of birthing and midwifery books, enough prenatal vitamins to keep them until the baby was born, and maybe longer, and small pile of baby clothes and blankets. "What d'you think?" She smiled up at the leader.

Rick patted her on the shoulder. "I think we were pretty damn blessed that you shot Daryl."

"Hey! I heard that!" Daryl was leaning against the car, cleaning his nails with a knife. "But, I'm so glad that my gettin' hurt did somethin' good for the shitty situation." The ladies laughed at the rednecks sarcasm.

"Again, I'm sorry 'bout that." Diane started shoving stuff back into the bag for Rick and Lori to take back to their space in the house.

Waving her off, he simply said, "Nah, s'all good."

Maggie, who had finally warmed up to the new members, was shrugging on a light coat. "Girl, I don't know where you got these, and quite frankly, I don't care. This is awesome."

"I know, right? So, Hershel, where are me and the boys sleepin' at?"

"I've got you and the other ladies up in Maggie's room. The boys will be takin' over Beth's."

"I still don't understand why I had to give up my room." Beth gripped. After suicide attempt, she had taken to wearing bracelets and ribbons tied over her wrist, they gave her sort of a rocker/country girl look.

"Because, you're room is smaller, and there are fewer boys. We all have to do our part, Bethie." Hershel told her as he gave her a look that said, 'don't push your luck.'

"Fine." She drawled.

"C'mon, Beth, you get to hang out with the girls in the fun room. We can stay up all night and talk about boys, and do each other's makeup." Diane said with mock excitement. To which, the younger simply rolled her eyes. The former turned back to Beth's father. "This is a good move, Hershel. We can't have everybody spread out like we did. There's just...too much that can go wrong."

"I know. It's gonna be kinda tight. 20 people in one house might get pretty cozy, pretty fast."

"We'll be ok, me and mine have had to all sleep in either the truck, or all in one tent."

"Why only one?" The old man asked.

"Because, if there's any chance that we aren't safe in a place we stop to sleep, we only used one. Less to leave behind if we have to get the hell outta dodge. Also less chance that one of us will get attacked first and not be able to warns the others.

Hershel nodded.

"It's a good way of doing things, but makes for some pretty rough sleepin', don't it." Daryl had sidled up beside the two. To which Diane just shrugged and left to do something else.

The day drifted on, everyone going about their own business. Since the day that Shane attacked Diane, the two had stayed well away from each other. And for the most part, the same was true with Michael. He seemed to learn his lesson of leaving her alone, because in the last few weeks, he hadn't said much of anything to her, let alone tried anything. All of this was much to the relief of Diane. It was once again time to feed the prisoner, so she volunteered to do it. Andrea was sitting at the shed door, sharpening a knife.

"What the hell do you want, new girl?"

Diane scoffed. "I have a name."

"So?"

"So, don't call me _new girl_. Listen, I'm just here to feed the kid."

"You know the rules. No one goes in or has any interaction with the prisoner." As if to make a point, Andrea started fingering her gun.

"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes. "Even if you managed to draw your gun on me, I'd be right on top of you before you got a shot off. Rule of twenty-one feet, blondie. Just let me give him the food, and I'll be out of your hair before you know it."

"You need permission from Rick or Shane to go in there."

"Who do you think sent me. Look, just because you're riding Shane's swagger stick doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want to. So, shut up and let me get by, that way I don't have to hurt you."

As Diane shoved past her, she could hear the other woman mutter, "Like you could."

After an incident with Carl sneaking into the shed, Randall was kept blindfolded as well as gagged. She watched as the poor kid swung his head back and forth in an attempt to figure out who was in the shed with him. Kneeling down, Diane pulled his gag out.

"Which one are you? Please don't hurt me!" _Pitiful,_ she thought.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just brought you some food. You must be really hungry." She uncovered the venison stew that she and Patricia had made the day before. "Open your mouth." When he hesitated, she sighed. "I promise you, it's not poisoned. But, if you'd rather starve-" she made as if she was packing up

"No! No, please. I'm sorry, it's just a little hard to trust someone whose people have kept me locked up in a barn for the last few weeks."

"I understand, and I'm not gonna try to change your mind about whether or not we are good people. That's something you have to figure out for yourself. I'm just here to keep you from dying." Diane hesitated as she reached up. "I'm going to take your blindfold off, ok?"

"A-alright." The material was removed, making Randall blink at the sudden light that assaulted his eyes. Once he was able to see, his gaze was drawn to the woman who sat in front of him. "Wow..."

Diane was taken aback at the expression. "Open your mouth," she told him as she raised the spoon to his face. It was like feeding a baby, except he didn't flail about with hands that had no coordination. She gave him stew, water, and a peach to keep up his strength. As she made to leave, he stopped her.

"You gotta let me out of here. I didn't do anything."

"You shot at out people. You and your group. In this world, we can't afford to trust someone like you. Believe me, I would let you go, considering that your men are probably long gone by now, but that's not my choice. Rick and Hershel will decide your fate. Until then, you will stay in here." Without letting him get anymore words out, Diane shoved the gag back into his mouth, then pulled his blindfold back over his eyes. Despite his struggling, she managed to get his bindings back on without much trouble. Upon breaking out into the late afternoon air, she took a few deep breaths. She didn't think she'd ever be able to get used to the idea of having to kill people. She noticed, vaguely, that Andrea was no longer at her post outside the door. Maybe she just wasn't strong enough for this world. _Strong enough_ probably wasn't the right phrase for that..._hard enough_ was a better term. Diane could survive all day out in the wilds, but to always be on guard for people who wanted nothing more than to be rid of them for their belongings? She almost hadn't trusted Daryl when they met.

Coming up on the farm, she had dared to believe that there were good people left in the world. Dared to hope that they could actually be safe here. In the short time that her family had been allowed to reside next to the others, she had deluded herself into thinking that they would be protected from everything there. Randall had shown her that it was nothing more than a dream. It didn't matter where they went, there would always be someone else that wanted what they had, something else trying to kill them. That was why Rick and Hershel had decided to let her and the others stay. There was strength in numbers, that much she understood. But still...More people made for more problematic issues. For instance, apparently there was the possibility that the baby Lori was carrying might actually be Shane's, not Rick's. Which made the situation between Shane and Andrea a bit more interesting, nevermind that the who mess of Shane attacking her. She thought people were crazy and stupid _before_ the end of the world? It was nothing compared to _after_.

"Hey, Diane!" She turned at the call of her name. Carol was running towards her.

"What's up?"

"The girls and I were gonna go pick peaches. You wanna join us?" Carol gestured back towards the group of ladies standing around the pick-up with baskets. "Get away from the _staggering_ amount of testosterone for a little bit, might do us all some good." The older woman gave her a knowing look.

"That actually sounds pretty damn good." The women laughed as they joined the others. It was no more than a five minute drive from the house to the orchard, but it was filled with revelry and laughter. Halfway there, Diane looked around at the other car that was following them.. "Andrea not joining us?"

Maggie shook her head against the wind that blew hair into her face. "Naw, little miss Barbie girl had guard duty."

"Does she ever do anything besides sit on her ass on the RV with a gun?"

"Not really." Lori rolled her eyes. "She tried to say she was contributing to the group by providing a diligent lookout."

"How? She's usually watching all of us working," Beth asked. Murmurs of agreement sounded.

Hours later when the women returned with bushels of fresh peaches, the sun was barely starting to make its descent to the horizon. After a few more hours, T-Dog had left to take Randall to his final destination. Only to come running back. All of them were yelling, all at once. Not being to understand what was going on, everyone came running to find out what the problem was.

"Randall's loose!"

"What!" Lori yelled, pulled Carl closer.

"I was just at the shed. He's gone!" T-dog was pacing back and forth, trying to calm himself down. "Looks like he managed to slip the cuffs!" Everyone was shouting, trying to figure out how this could have possibly happened. Diane had just turned to her mom to say something, when she was clocked across the face. Leah gasped her name as she tried to catch her. Diane hit the ground. Sitting up, she felt blood trickling down her chin. She ran her tongue over the split in her lip.

"You fucking bitch!" Andrea yelled, ready to hit her again.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"_You_ were the last person to visit Randall."

"Maybe I was, but you wouldn't know that because you left your post before I even left. I didn't let him out, I'm not fucking stupid!" Diane was up and chest to chest with Andrea. Really, chest to chin, considering that Diane was rather short compared to Andrea. "I want him gone as much as y'all do, but not right on fucking top of us! We all know what kind shit storm he could bring back."

"_Rick! Rick!_" Shane came running out of the woods, his face was bloodied, and he looked ready to kill. "Little bastard jumped me! He's got my gun!" Once again, they were plunged into confused pandemonium. Rick called everyone to order, doling out instructions like a true police officer.

"Alright, we're gonna go find him, y'all get back in the house. Make sure to lock the doors and keep a lookout."

"Don't go out there. Y'all know what can happen!" Carol tried to stop them.

"Yeah, but we also know what can happen if he finds his group." Rick came up to Diane, setting a hand on her shoulder. "I need you to keep an eye on everyone. Y'all's weapons are all in the RV. Get them, get everyone armed. I want y'all ready in case Randall's already met up with the others."

"What about you?" Diane cut her eyes to Shane, who stood watching them with a dark look in his eye. "I don't like this situation." Giving him a pointed look, hoping he understood her meaning.

Luckily, he did. "I don't either. If he tries anything, I don't want anyone else in the crossfire. If he comes back without me..."

Diane stiffened. Did he really think Shane would dare to actually kill him? "I won't let him. He'd be dead before he ever made it to the house."

Rick nodded his head. "Keep them safe," he nodded towards his family. With acknowledgement from her, he turned on his heel and motioned for Shane, Daryl, and Glenn to follow him.

"Alright, people. You heard him, let's get back to the house. Lori, get everyone settled, but get as much as we won't need tonight back into the trucks. Collin, Rob, come with me."

"Who the hell put you in charge?" Michael groused, still sore from her refusal.

"Rick just did. Help T-dog load up the trucks. Come on, let's move!" Everyone was spurred into action by her voice. Her brothers hurried to keep up. As they came upon the RV, Collin held the door for his sister.

"What are we doing?"

"We, dear little brothers," she stopped to address them, "are suiting up." She jumped into the vehicle, the boys looked at each other, and broke into mirroring grins.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Robert followed his sister.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine~ Armed**_

The main part of group had managed to get most of their belonging back into the cars, and were just laying out some blankets in the house when the Smith siblings strode back through the door. Nobody even looked at them until they heard T-dog call from the other side of the room.

"What the hell is all that?" Everyone turned to see Diane standing with her brothers flanking her. Diane had exchanged her usual shoes out for a set of black boots that were laced up over her shins, dark cargo pants tucked into them. Her blue flannel shirt was buttoned and tucked into her pants over a tank top. She and her brothers were decked out in harnesses. Diane's hair, which had previously been in its usual high ponytail, was now pulled down to the base of her neck in a French braid. She and Collin were carrying helmets under their arm, his with a dragon design, her's with flames, though both had odd markings around the edges of the hard material.

Michael stepped up, getting right in her face. "You got Frankie out? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Who the hell is Frankie?" Andrea asked.

"Frankie is her bike!" The former soldier answered for her. "There's no way I'm letting you riding if something happens."

"You won't have a choice. With as many people as we have, there won't be much room in the cars, let alone with all our crap in there. Besides, if we get swamped, at least Collin and I can get over the rough terrain in the event that we can't get to the road."

"Ok," Lori stepped between them. "I understand the bike, Daryl's got one for the same reasons. But, what is all of this?" She gestured to the weapons that the siblings were wearing and carrying in several large bags, which they all dumped in a pile, Diane opening the top one.

"These are how we keep ourselves safe. Rick wanted me to get everyone armed. Don't be shy, we need everyone armed to the teeth."

They were in the middle of doing just that when Daryl and Glenn walked in. "Rick and Shane ain't back yet?"

"We heard a shot," Glenn added.

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori rationed.

"We found him," the hunter explained. "He's a walker.

"Did you find the one that bit him?" Hershel asked them.

"The weird thing is...he wasn't bit. Got his neck broke."

"So fought back?" Patricia added.

"Thing is, Randall and Shane's tracks were right on top of each other." Daryl explained. "And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together."

Lori ran up to the hunter. "Can you please go back out there and find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?"

"You got it."

Diane tapped Collin's arm, motioning for him to follow Daryl. She had just turned to do the same when Michael grabbed her arm. "You can't go out there."

"Like hell I can't." Shrugging him off, she continued her path. They barely reached the porch. "Holy shit." The pastures beyond the fence were flooded with walkers. And at the rate they were piling on each other, the fence wouldn't hold for more than a minute. Diane and her brothers looked at each other. None of them had ever seen a herd that big. Grabbing Robert, she whispered to him, go get the rest of the stuff, throw it in the back of the humvee **(that was the truck they had first rolled up in, one of the perks of raiding a National Guard station)**, make sure everyone is ready in case we need to bug. And make sure we have enough water in the tank to last us a while."

"20 people, sis, that tank ain't gonna last very long." Collin joined in.

"We're just gonna have to make due." As they were planning, so were the others. Andrea had already left to grab the guns, everyone else started arguing about whether or not they should leave.

"This is _my_ farm," Hershel exclaimed. "And I'll die here."

Daryl looked around, then shrugged. "As good a night as any." He jumped over the porch railing.

"Di, there is no way you are going out there in that!" Michael tried to reason.

"Try to stop me."

"You'll die!"

"Love how you seem to be worried all about me. What about Collin? Robert? I don't hear you objecting to them going out there." The soldier stumbled over himself. "That's what I thought. Fuck off, Mike. Stop worrying about me and get your own shit together. Collin!" She called after the older brother. "Forget the helmets. Walkers bring a whole new level of shit, and we're gonna need all the sight-lines we can get." She tossed her helmet to him, who threw it into her car. "Let's hit it." The two of them climbed on, Diane in front, Collin riding on the seat behind her. Looking up from her weapons, she noticed Daryl staring at her. Not really her...her bike.

"The hell kinda bike is that?" Diane laughed. Yeah, her Harley had had some alterations since the end of days. The most noticeable one was the pieces of dark metal that she had welded over the front end, created a smaller version of a snow plow. She knew that if she _were_ to try and plow through a herd like that one, her bike would fall over, and they'd be covered in walkers before they had time to scream. It was more for when they were weaving through an area, if they his a walker, it would get thrown to one side instead of under the wheels or close enough to them for a bite.

"You wanna ask more questions, or do you wanna go kill some walkers?" Diane revved her engine, punctuating her remark. She didn't give him time to respond as the two siblings took off to thin out the herd.

This had to be what hell was like. Everywhere they looked, walkers surrounded them. One after another, they fell, and it seemed like for every _one_ they downed, _three _more dragged themselves towards them. Diane felt Collin tap her shoulder. Taking her eyes off their path for a moment, she followed his pointing finger, straight to the barn. It was on fire. Maybe Rick or Shane had done that...maybe they were trying to help lead the herd away from the house. Not that that would do any good. There were just too many. Turning back, she nearly steered them straight into a large group of the herd. They swerved, almost tipping the bike in the process.

"Shit! Sis, keep it steady."

"Trying! There's too many. We need to get out of here."

"Mom and Rob?"

"We'll circle back. If they aren't at the house, then they're gone and we need to be too." Doing just that, they noticed that the only ones still at the house were Tammy and Michael, who were trying to make their way to the car. The two of them rode by, shooting and killing some of the walkers. Tammy tried to run when she heard the gunshots, but ran the opposite way, right into the waiting arms of a walker. She was taken down. "TAMMY!"

"Holy shit! Mike! Mike, we gotta go!" Collin yelled right in her ear. Except...he didn't hear them. He was too busy trying to prove that he could protect Diane. He had moved until he was less than twenty feet away, his back to them, shooting down those walkers that came near them. That didn't last long. They piled on top of him, suffocating him. He got out one last scream before his misery ended for good.

"God dammit! Collin, get in the truck, we'll find Mom and the others along the way." He didn't move. "Move it, bro! We gotta go! _Now!_" This shook the young man into action. He jumped off of the bike, and into the humvee. The two of them tore out of there like bats out of hell. In her mind, pretty accurate considering the shit they had just gone through.

The crisp autumn wind stung on Diane's cheeks, turning them bright pink. Collin drove the truck in front of her, clearing the way of any and all walkers that posed a potential threat to the woman on the bike. On the way out, a walker had managed to get ahold of her while she was driving in front. It hadn't done any real damage. But, it had knocked her and her bike over, causing it to land on her left leg. Now it was aching, along with the place where her shoulder had hit the ground. A honk sounded before her, pulling Diane from her thoughts. The military vehicle was slowing. Taking it as a sign that they could stop, she pulled her bike around in front. She was happily surprised to see Daryl and Carol had managed to get out alive, and right now they sat on _his_ bike. Diane shut off her motorcycle, propping it up with the kickstand

Carol climbed out from behind her apparent savior, running to the younger woman. "Thank god, you made it! Did you see anyone else?"

"Tammy and Mike didn't make it." Collin had joined them, the door to the humvee still open. "Other than them, we did see anyone. Did you see if Mom and Robert got out?"

"No, honey. I'm sorry. We thought we were the last ones to leave."

"So did we." Diane commented. "Where do we go from here? Is there a place y'all agreed to join up if you got separated?"

"Not really." Daryl was just sitting on his bike, watching the exchange. "Only place I can think of would be the highway. The car where we left supplies for Sophia, remember? In case she came back."

"Yes!" Carol exclaimed. "That's got to be where they went. It's the only place that everybody knows. We go there, we'll find them, I'm sure of it." Diane and Collin gave each other a look.

"Alright. That's where we'll go. Lead the way."

Along the way to the traffic snarl on the highway, they so came across Glenn and Maggie in her Handai, swerving all over the road. It was a happy reunion, but not one that lasted for very long. They still had a ways to go and they still had not found anyone else. They had to take several backroads to steer clear of the walkers that seemed to be flooding out of the city. Even out in the boonies, the had to stop and fight their way out of a snafu more than once. There were just too many of them to simply ride on through. Night dragged on, day broke. It was the afternoon before they made it to the others. They had thought they were gone completely for a moment. Until they finally found Hershel's red truck out in the middle of the sea of vehicles.

"Mom?" Diane yelled as she pulled up to a stop. Behind the truck, she could see her Ford, covered in blood and guts. The doors opened to reveal what was left of her family. "Mom!" She and Collin ran, meeting Leah and Robert halfway. Hugs were exchanged, kisses given. Maggie was reunited with her sister and father. Lori found Carl and Rick. They were together again. "Who all have we lost? Michael and Tammy went down just before we left."

"Patricia's gone. I was holding her hand when they got her." Beth was close to tears.

Lori put a hand on her shoulder. "We lost Andrea, too."

"She was trying to save me," Carol's voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

"Jimmy was in the RV when it got overrun," Rick explained. "Shane's gone, too."

They had lost six people in one night. "The numbers just keep falling, don't they?" Diane murmured, hoping no one heard her. Unfortunately, Daryl was the only one close enough to hear her. Not usually one for physical contact, he surprised her when he gave her an awkward half one-armed hug.

"We'll be alright. Just gotta watch each other's asses." He patted her shoulder. "By the way, nice bike."

It was a pitiful attempt to lighten the mood, but it somewhat worked. "Thanks, you too. So, what now?" The last part was addressed to the whole group.

"We'll stay here for tonight, it's already too late to get anywhere safe." Something was off with Rick, she couldn't put her finger on it, but there was. "Huddle up, down there inside those rock walls. Small fire, blankets, we should be alright for tonight."

_Right_, Diane thought to herself. _After that herd, no telling what might happen._


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten~ In the Dark of the Night**_

The area where they had set up camp for the night kept them safe from the harsh bite of the early autumn wind, though it did little to abate the cold. The standing stones that gave them shelter were too far spread out for them to effectively hold in any heat from the fire and bodies that occupied the space. Diane had poured several packets of biscuits and gravy MRE meals into a collapsible pot, setting it over the fire after dumping an equal amount of boiling water. She stirred it quickly and left it to cook with a lid on top of it. She didn't care much to deal with anyone right then...at least until she heard Carol say something about ditching Rick and taking the chance of being alone. Her head snapped up, her eyes bright with unshed tears, meeting the older woman's gaze.

"You really think any of you would be alive right now if it weren't for Rick?" A pregnant pause made the air thick with tension. Diane stood up. "You talk about going off on your own, Carol? You can't even shoot a gun, let alone take down walkers hand to hand. You think he's lost it because he killed Shane? News flash, assholes, Shane was just about as far gone as someone can get. You remember what he did you _me_. Any of you think he would have spared you from sheer hell if he had managed to kill Rick? That man was insane, and I, for one, am _really_ glad he did what he did."

"You've wanted Shane gone since the day you showed up at the farm." Lori interjected.

"No shit, Sherlock. The man assaulted me, threatened me, shoved a gun in my back, and you wanted me to thank him for it? Fuck no. Just because y'all had a thing goin' on, doesn't mean that the rest of liked him. In fact, most of us hated the fucker."

Lori made a move to get in her face, her husband rushing to keep her back, though he narrowly missed. Mrs. Grimes swung, a blow that wouldn't have hurt even if it had landed. Diane ducked under her arm, making sure to keep away from her belly. Grabbing hold of Lori's arm, she twisted it behind her back and forced her slowly to the ground. No one tried to stop them. Not even Rick. "Now, you listen here. I don't give a shit what went down, it ain't my business. What is my business is if you end up getting us all killed. And, because of your shenanigans, you nearly got your husband killed. An innocent boy is dead in the process, as well as several of our own. You screwed up. Granted Shane was as crazy as a damn tree frog, but something _you_ did made him think it was all ok. You don't get a say in anything anymore." Diane shoved her away, then walked away from the group, back in the direction of the road.

Of course, she knew it was a bad idea to go out in the dark alone, but she needed to get away. The back of the humvee had been fixed up so that supplies could fit. They had even grabbed an bedding mat to lay down in the floor of the back seats. Diane didn't even bother checking the road for walkers before she hopped up into the vehicle, into the seat so she could remove her gear. Damn the others for being dumb enough to sleep outdoors. She had told them, hadn't she, before they ever left the road, that they should sleep in the cars. Sure, it might be a bit cramped, but it was safer than having their asses hanging out for any walker to chomp on. Not that anyone listened to her. She had been struggling to reach one of the straps on her vest, when she heard something coming towards her. Diane stopped moving, but for the small motion of her hand reaching for her sidearm. Whatever it was came up to the side of the humvee. She drew and aimed her gun at the figure that reached to tap on the open door.

"Damn it, Dixon!" She huffed, lowering her weapon.

The hunter leaned against the door, his usual scowl in place. "You shouldn't be runnin' off like that, then I wouldn't have had to follow you." He stated simply. When she began fiddling with the strap again. "You need some help there?" Her answer was to huff irritably and throw her hands up in frustration. Daryl just shook his head and motioned for her to come closer. "Com'ere." Diane hopped down, turning her side to him so he could undo the vest for her.

"I'm not fucking incapable."

"Yeah, I know. Everythin' that's gone on today, though, don't surprise me you're shakin' like a leaf."

"I am not!"

"Pfft, whatever." His last word was punctuated by him holding up the edges of her vest so she could slip out of it.

"Why the hell did you follow me, Dixon?"

"Why the hell are you callin' me Dixon?"

"Because that's your fuckin' name, asshole. Now, answer my question."

"Your little bro wanted to come. Your mom told him to settle down, asked me to come talk to you."

"Why?" She was thoroughly confused.

"Dunno. Musta thought I could talk you into apologizin' or some shit." Shrugging, he pulled out a cigarette carton, only to open it and find it empty but for the broken filter end of a single one. "Shit." He balled it up and threw it across the road.

"Hang on, I might have something..." Diane crawled back into the humvee. Daryl could hear her rummaging around through some of the boxes.

"The hell you doin' in there, girl." He leaned in, only to yank his head back when she popped back out.

"First of all, don't fucking call me 'girl'. I'm not a 'girl'," she made air quotes. "I have a name. And second, I was digging around back there for these." Diane tossed him a brand new carton. It was the good stuff, shit that was usually pretty fucking expensive.

"Where the hell'd you get these?" He asked as he unwrapped the cellophane.

"Back home, after everything went to shit, we made sure to grab a shit ton of cigs. Mike smoked way too much. Plus, we figured we could barter it, if nothing else." Daryl nodded, lighting up the cigarette and taking a long inhale. When he blew out the smoke, he held it out to her. Diane held up her hand and shook her head. "I don't smoke cigarettes. Asthma, remember?"

He took another puff, asking as he exhaled, "Do you smoke at all?"

"Who the hell hasn't these days?" Her head was itchy. Diane yanked at the end of her braid, pulling the hair tie loose. "Fuck, my head hurts."

"Didn't peg you for a pothead, Max."

"Who the fuck is Max?"

"You. Y'know, like the movie, Mad Max. That gettup, you look like a character from it. You never answered my question."

"You never asked one. But for future reference, I don't smoke much, especially now. Didn't smoke much then either, to be honest with you. I had just started up with it when shit hit the fan. I was actually lucky enough that I had bought some from a buddy right before the end." By now, her hair had unraveled all the way, leaving it hanging in waves all around her head. Her hair wasn't as dark as he'd originally thought. At least, what he could see in the moonlight. "I was a good kid, never did anything I wasn't really supposed to do. I got pregnant young, and didn't smoke until after I had the baby, after she got old enough to spend the night at her mawmaw's house."

"What about your husband? Did he smoke?"

Diane shook her head. "Not much. They had random drug tests at the factory where he worked so he made a point not to smoke too much. Never really said anything to me about it, except to ask me not to smoke around the baby. Like I'm some kind of idiot."

Daryl was taken back to before everything went to shit. He was never around kids much, but he knew that there were people he and Merle hung with that had kids, some that did their shit around them. He remembered the tweeker that they got into it with when his brother said something...it was something stupid, he couldn't even remember what was said. But they started fighting. It ended with him getting hit in the stomach and puking everywhere. After that, they had dissolved into wasted laughter. Daryl watched the newest addition to their would happen to her and her family now that their leader was dead? Sure, the two of them hadn't seen eye to eye on stuff, but at least Michael had been providing some sort of stability since the start of everything. Diane stood against the truck, eyes ever vigilant, watching the tree line for anything that might pose a threat. Did this girl ever relax?

"Hey," he tapped the back of his hand against her arm, bringing her attention back to the redneck. "You gonna be alright?" At the confused look, he pointed back towards the camp. "Your family's gonna be lookin' to you now, y'know. After everything that just went down, you're the only one they trust."

"They've got Rick, you. Hell, even Hershel." She ran a hand through her hair, scratching her scalp as she did. "I'm not a leader, not like y'all."

"Like hell. Your little bro told me how you got them out, after shit hit the fan. Way I heard it, you did a hell of a lot more than that prick."

"I did what I had to, to survive."

"Didn't we all."

"Yeah, well...I've done a lot of crap I'm not proud of. I'm sure most of us have." He noticed her rubbing a spot on her arm, having shoved the sleeves of her flannel shirt up to her elbows. Even in the faint light, he could see the raised marks on her skin, including the one that she was running her finger over. He decided not to ask her about it, knowing that he wouldn't want her to ask him if she saw the marks that adorned his back.

Diane suddenly stood up, eyes trained on something across the road. She whistled softly at him, motioning with her chin at the walker that had just stumbled out of the brush. She turned and pulled the knife from her belt. He would have shot it from there, but he didn't want to risk losing a bolt in the forest. They couldn't spare the ammo, and they both knew it. Using the humvee as a shadow cover, they waited until it got closer, making sure that there weren't anymore behind it. Once it came within a few feet of them, Daryl grabbed it by the collar, holding it still for Diane to get a clean shot through the eye socket. It went down with ease. Neither of them said anything for a while, just stared off across the road, until he finished his cigarette and put it out with the heel of his shoe.

"C'mon. We best get back."

"Yeah, wouldn't want people to think we're up to something, right?" The woman chuckled lightly, to which he only shook his head and waved at her over his shoulder, beckoning for her to follow. Diane sighed. And, grabbing a few thick blankets, she followed him back through the trees.

The fire came back into sight. No one even looked at them as the pair of them slipped back amongst the group. Leah watched as her daughter moved around the circle, coming to stop beside her and the boys. Collin relieved her of one of the covers, unfolding it to show the dragon that adorned it. That had been his favorite blanket for a long time, if only for the design. But, now, as he and Robert grudgingly sat together under it, it was thick enough to keep them warm. Likewise, Diane shook out her's which had a large wolf face as the center decoration, a smaller picture at the bottom depicting a pack of wolves howling at the moon in front of a mountain range. She smiled at her baby girl when she threw it over her shoulders, ducking under it to hold her close.

"Thank you."

Diane kissed her mother's head, pulling her to lay her head on her shoulder. "Go to sleep, momma."

"What about the rest of us?" Coral quiped, ruining the moment between mother and daughter. "You expect us to sleep out here with not covers?"

"No, Carol, I expect you to get off your ass and go get your own. These are the only big blankets we have, and we are sharing. If you remember, I told all of you to pack the cars. You want a blanket, walk up to the road and get one. You can't depend on other people to do everything for you anymore." With that, Diane leaned back against the wall and pulled the cover closer around them.

"She's right." Daryl, she noticed, was now wearing a poncho...no telling where he found it, or when he managed to grab it when they left the road. "Y'all go get some blankets if you're so fuckin' cold." Then he settled down, whispering, "Pussies." Diane couldn't help but smile. Having someone like Daryl Dixon agree with you was...slightly concerning, sometimes. But, to her, it meant that what she had said would get through to the rest of them. Lori didn't care for her too much right now. But then again, she did like many people after they found out the baby might be Shane's. The thin woman probably thought that everyone hated her, because she might be carrying the child of a man that would kill his best friend for a woman that wasn't even his.

This shit was messed up.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven~ On the Road Again**_

Rick, Hershel, and Daryl were up before the other the next morning. They stood around the front of Hershel's truck, pouring over a map. "If we follow this road, we're bound to come up on something eventually, right?" Rick asked.

"Unfortunately, there's not many towns in the area. Mostly things like the one back home. It'll be a while, but we'll find something." Hershel was trying to help, but the prospect of a smattering of small towns that had been picked through didn't exactly sound all that great.

Their heads all shot up at the sound of a stick breaking off to the side, hands on weapons. Diane stopped, her hands raised in mock surrender. "Don't shoot, I come in peace." They relaxed a bit, going back to the map.

Daryl watched her as she went to her truck, pulling out a fresh pair of socks, a brush, and a coat. He was right the previous night when he noticed her hair was lighter. In the morning sun he could see that her dark brown waves had bits of natural blonde woven through them. When she turned to sit down, he realized that she also had a streak of faded out red on one of the locks at the bottom of her right ear. Diane had changed out her socks, and had moved on to brushing her hair into its usual ponytail.

"Hey, Max!" He called. At first she didn't realize he was talking to her, then she remembered that he had called her that the previous night. When she looked up, he was motioning for her to join them. Diane shrugged her coat on and made her way over.

"Don't call me that." She was tired and hungry, and was in no mood to deal with the hunter's usual gruff attitude. "If you wanna give me a nickname, make it something that actually has something to do with my _real_ name, that way we don't get confused."

"Whatever," he scoffed. Pointing to the map, he turned back to her. "Y'all came here all the way from Mississippi, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, you've been out that way. Any chance there might be something to the west."

Diane shook her head, causing her ponytail to swing behind her. "No. Everything we came across on our way here was basically picked to the bone. Our best chance would be to go east, maybe a little north. Cold should slow the walkers down a bit, so we'll have that to our advantage during the winter. Might be able to find a place to hole up in for a while. With Lori being pregnant, she's gonna need some sort of stability the farther along she gets. She'll need more food if she wants to keep the baby, and she's too thin as it is."

Rick nodded his head. "Did you manage to grab any of that stuff you found the other day? The vitamins and such?"

"Yeah. It's in the back of the humvee. When she gets up here, I'll dig 'em out for you, so y'all can keep them with you."

"Sounds good. So, east it is. Daryl, go get the others up. We need to eat quickly and get the hell out of the open." Daryl muttered an agreement and wandered back towards the camp.

"Hey, Rick?" Diane stopped him with a hand on his arm. "I'm...I'm sorry about the stuff I said last night, about Lori and Shane. It was outta line, and I'm gonna apologize once we've all had something to eat."

"Naw, you had every right to say what you did." He hung his head. "Thing is...I was thinking the same things. I'm not gonna say you're wrong, but...for the good of the group, you might need to..."

"Yeah. Lord knows it's gonna be a long winter, with no shelter and a baby on the way.": Seeing the others through the trees, she backed away. "I've got some food in the truck, I'll get it and start rationing."

"Good. Make sure everyone had enough water, too. We don't need anyone getting sick of dehydration."

"You got it, boss." Diane pulled everything they'd need out, doling out food and water to everyone as they lined up. Lori was the last one, still not really sure about the woman that stood before her. "Hey, you got a minute?"

Looking back to the group, Lori realized that no one was in earshot. "If you're going to tell me off again-"

"No, no. Nothing like that. I wanted to apologize. What I said last night was out of line. I understand why things happened the way they did, and the events at the farm gave me no right to take out my frustration on you. I'm sorry. I want us to be ok. If not for us, then for everyone else. You and I both know that Rick's gonna need all the help he can get. And these people only know so much about babies. Carol might know some, being a mother. Hershel can help with the technical parts. But, knowing what you're going through, I'm just about the only one who can help emotionally."

"What do you mean?" Lori's eyes widened. "How could you possibly know what this is like? My baby is going to grow up in a world where the dead kill the living, and the living are worse than the dead. My husband hates me because I made him kill his best friend, my son looks at me like I'm a traitor. You have no idea what I'm going through right now!" She hissed at the younger woman.

"Lori...when all this started, I had a little girl, not even two and a half. I watched her get torn apart by a group of walkers while my husband held her in his arms. Less than a week later, I found out I was pregnant, almost three months along." The other woman gasped, eyes shooting down to her belly.

"But...you didn't say-"

"There was no reason to. I lost the baby shortly thereafter. Malnutrition and stress caused my body to spontaneously abort the fetus to keep me alive, although having a walker shove me down onto a log didn't help either. I remember sitting there, afterwards, blood everywhere, this tiny baby in my hand. My little boy, who had never even gotten a chance to breathe." The woman before her looked at her in shock. "In a better world, my body would have been strong enough to carry any child to term...that's what my doctor told me when I was pregnant with Dawn, my girl. She said that I was so fertile, and my reproductive system was the best she'd ever seen. I should still be pregnant." Pausing, she pulled a necklace from under her shirt. "I will never get a chance to see my baby grow up, because I made a stupid mistake. But, you can be that I'm gonna make sure you and _this_ baby don't suffer the same fate. Your kid's gonna grow up with a loving family, protected from every side." Diane set the locket in her hands. Inside was a picture of her with a taller man and a little girl in a pink dress. Her family, taken at the very beginning. "I know very well what you're going through. And I'm not going to just let you roll over and give up."

Lori was in tears, she hugged Diane to her tightly. "Thank you. I'm so sorry about your baby."

"Don't be. If the powers that be decided that he should join his daddy and sister on the other side, who am I to disagree. Go eat, you need to keep up your strength." The other woman handed her locket back, then grabbed her food and walked to the rest of the group. Diane sighed, turning to get her vest from the truck, only to be faced with Daryl staring at her, eyes narrowed. Whether it was in pity or disgust, she couldn't tell. "What the fuck you lookin' at?" Brushing past him, she reached inside the humvee.

"Why didn't you say nothin' before?" They sound of his voice let her know that he had heard everything. _Dammit all to hell._ Diane had made it this far without breaking down...at least, not after the day that she lost every connection she ever had to Tom.

"It wasn't anyone's business. So what, I lost a baby? I'm sure a lot of women that survived have. There's nothing special about what happened to me, and there's no use dwelling on it. Like I told her," she gestured towards the other woman without looking back towards him. "Who am I to argue with the gods?"

"Gods? What you Greek or somethin'?"

Diane chuckled, shaking her head. "Nah." As she pulled her vest closed over her chest, she finally looked at her fellow hunter. "To be honest..." She looked at the others, making sure they wouldn't hear. "Some people might call what I believe in Paganism. Wicca." He wasn't getting it... "I'm a witch."

"So, what, you gonna work some kinda spell and get us outta this shitstorm?" He was using sarcasm as a defense. "You gonna do some kinda voodoo ritual, dance naked in the moonlight or some shit?"

This time, she did laugh. "I'm not a Hermione Granger here, pal. Everything I do, any 'spell' or ritual I use, all I'm doing is manipulating the energies around me to help whatever I need done. It only works if they're already bending in that direction. Otherwise, I'm just fighting against nature."

Daryl scoffed. "You sound like a damn hippie."

"Yeah, I know." Diane leaned up against the truck with one foot propped against it. "That's the only way I know how to describe it. To be fair, any time anyone tried to push Christianity on me, all it did was make them sound like Bible-thumpin' rednecks."

"You got somethin' against rednecks?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Not at all." She pushed off the vehicle and patted his arm as she went past. "Come on, let's go eat."

Less than an hour later, the group was on the move again. To cut back on fuel consumption, Rick had decided that the two archer's should share a bike. Neither Diane or Daryl were too thrilled about that, but saw the reasoning behind it. Diane thought they should ride hers, since it was better on gas. Daryl thought they should use his because...well, it was his. He knew she wouldn't have let him drive her Harley, just like he wouldn't have let her drive his old Bonneville. Daryl didn't much care for the idea of having to hold onto some chick for god knows how long. The group watched on in quiet amusement as the two of them bickered over which bike they would take, and which would end up in the back of the truck.

"If y'all don't mind, we kinda need to hurry it up." Rick chuckled. He didn't care which one they took, as long as they got on the road.

"Seriously, sis," Collin shook his head. "If it's such a big deal, just rock-paper-scissor it." Diane and Daryl stared at him for a moment.

"You know, that's not actually a bad idea." The woman turned back to him and held up a fist.

He watched her for a moment, before shaking his head and holding up his hand. "Can't believe I'm doin' this over a bike."

"Ready?" He grunted, his way of telling her to hurry up. "Okay. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot! Dammit!" She exclaimed when he gently knocked her hand down with a rock to her scissors. Diane turned away to roll her chopper into the bed of the truck, with the help of T-dog, and tied it down. Much to her chagrin, when she finished, Daryl was already sitting on his bike, a smirk on his face. "You're smiling now, but you just wait until your bike runs out." Sighing, she swung her leg up and over the seat.

As she settled behind him, he laughed, actually laughed. "Don't worry, Max, I'll just fill 'er up from yours."

"Like hell you will," she muttered. Suddenly, she realized that if she wanted to keep from falling off, she was gonna have to hold on to him. Diane was a little hesitant to put her arms around him, a fact that was not lost on Daryl

"I don't like it anymore than you do. Just suck it up and let's go." Reaching back, he grabbed her hands from where they lay in her lap, and pulled them around to rest on his stomach. Satisfied that she was secure enough, Daryl started up his bike and revved it, letting the others know that he was ready.

The chopper jolted beneath them, causing Diane to tighten her grip on the man in front of her. She knew he had done that on purpose, and she responded by slapping his chest. Though she couldn't hear it, she could feel his rumbling laugh beneath her hands.

_Damn you, Dixon._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve~ Voice on the Wind**_

**A/N: Sorry, it took me a minute to update. I've had so much crap going on that it's been crazy. Writer's block sucks, the struggle is real people. Anyway, finally made myself sit down and start typing. Keep in mind that I don't usually plan out my stories, with the exception of a few key points, so they tend to go off in random directions that I didn't see at first...hence some of my bunny trails. Anyway, to the story! Read and review.**

Diane and Daryl were sent by Rick to scout ahead and hunt while the others rested for a bit. If they found anything worth trying for, they were to come back and lead the group there. It was getting late, the sun just beginning to dip low in the sky. If they didn't find something soon, they would have to turn back and tell the group of their failure. Neither of them were wearing helmets, as it would restrict their vision in the case of an attack. Plus, they made for difficulty spotting anything off the sides of the road. Diane was contemplating what it would mean if they never found a safe place. She and her group had been on the move since almost the very beginning, so she knew what it did to moral when there wasn't some kind of stability but the people around you. As they sped down the road, the ends of Diane's hair snapping against the base of her neck, she wondered...what it would be like to have something like it was before. Of course, she knew that it would never be just like before the turn, but just the thought of stability and a chance to have a family again.

"Hey!" Daryl tapped her arm over his stomach, getting her attention. Once he did, he pointed to a break in the trees. It was a town, small, and similar to the one back towards Hershel's farm. It looked mostly intact. The hunter turned his head to his riding companion enough to see her nod. He slowed the bike, then put his foot to the ground to smoothly guide it in a tight U-turn. It would take them nearly thirty minutes to make it back to the group, so he gunned it. Neither of them were particularly chatty, which was perfectly ok with both of them. Daryl had no desire to be caught up in a conversation, especially when the wind would end up carrying most of the words away. Likewise, Diane was too tired and wrapped up in her own mind to bother with talking, considering that she knew he didn't want to either.

By the time they got back, the others had stopped for a moment to try to find some water. When they heard the bike coming, all of them jolted up, running to meet them with Rick at the head. As soon as the engine was cut, Diane was off and bombarded by questions.

"Did you find anything?" Rick asked.

"Did you bring any food?"

"Did you run into any trouble?"

"Was there a lot of walkers in the way?"

"Is there any chance of getting some place safe?"

"Hold on a damn minute, y'all." Daryl growled. "We was about to tell ya, if you'd give a chance to breathe." In his usual surly way, he scoffed as he swiped the canteen Diane was drinking from, ignoring her choked expression of 'What the hell?'

She shook her head and turned back to the group. "There's a small town about half an hour out. Looked like it hasn't been touched for a while. Figure we pick a place to clear out, hole up there tonight, go through it more thoroughly tomorrow after we've all had a chance to rest. There were some cars from what we could see, so maybe we could siphon off some gas while we're there."

Rick nodded, "Good, good. Alright, let's get packed up. We head out in five." Then the sheriff placed a hand on the woman hunter's shoulder. "Y'all did good. You ok with ridin' with Daryl a little longer?"

Diane shook her head with a light laugh. "I don't mind, but you might want to ask Grumpy over here." She pointed over her shoulder at Daryl, who threw her the bird at the nickname.

"Long as I get another box o' cigs, don't bother me none." He pulled out one of the last cigarettes and then shook the box at her to make his point.

"Alright then, Grumpy, soon as we set up camp, I dig you out another box, 'kay?"

"Don't call me that."

"Then don't call me Max." She said simply as she sat back on his bike.

The group ended up picking out an apartment over an old law firm, which it didn't take much to clear it out, because there was only a few walkers meandering the halls. These must have been those few people that had chosen not to leave, and got stuck up there, or maybe someone opted out, ended up changing. A few of them had bites, others looked like they had starved to death. But, the group outnumbered them, even with just the main runners of it. Obviously, Lori was no longer allowed to do any kind of hunting, gathering, or killing if she could help it, Leah too.. Carl, Beth, and Hershel stayed back with her for the reasons of being too young and too old. Carol stayed as well, since she was just not the best at killing walkers. Robert had opted to stay behind so that they had a fighting chance if something did happen. That left Rick, Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, T-dog, Diane, and Collin.

Didn't take long. The others were trudging up the stairs before more than fifteen minutes had passed. T-dog, Daryl, and Collin had taken it upon themselves to take all the bodies and dump them over the side of the stairs, down into a pile at the side of the building. Settling on the first room they came to, everyone threw down their blankets while Rick and Diane searched for food.

"Nothin'. It's been picked through just like everything else." Rick sighed and leaned against the counter.

"Oh, I don't think so." Diane was smirking as she tugged on what looked like a loose plywood panel on a closet door. It creaked and screeched as she pulled the nails out a few at a time. Everyone came into the room to see what she was doing. Once she was done, she smiled. "Hell, yeah!" She opened the door all the way so they could see the packets of ready rice and powdered sauce taped to the inside of the door.

"How..." Lori, like everyone else, was stunned. "How could you possibly know..."

Diane held up a finger, a conspiratorial grin on her face. "First rule of prepping, never leave your shit where people can find it. For every fifteen minutes it take you to hide something, it'll take someone else an hour to find it. Unless they know what to look for." She started ripping the tape away, throwing the packets to everyone as she did.

Rick was thoroughly impressed. "Alright, I'll bite. What else you got?" The others agreed, even Daryl.

"Ok, other than loose boards on doors and floors, another place people usually overlook are air vents." She moved to the other side of the room, unlatching the vent. Opening it revealed a hidden cache of mason jars filled with canned foods. She handed them out, everyone marveling at the amount of food that could be hidden in such a small place. "Collin, go in the bedroom and check under the bed. Rob, tear the shit outta that chair and see what goodies these lovely people left for us." She tossed the younger brother her serrated knife, which he used to rip into the places that looked to anyone else like patches that were used to mend an old chair. Sure enough, there were a bunch of tiny bottles of alcohol, some candy bars, and a bunch of stationary.

"Sis, I didn't find anything under the bed." Collin was using his hands to lean through the doorway.

"Did you actually check the bottom of the bed, or did you just look at the space?"

"Uh...just the space."

"Exactly, get you a knife and tear that sucker open." To everyone else, she said, "Check the tank of the toilet, people like to put stuff in baggies and hide them in the water. Maybe they even hid some stuff in the pipelines, so try those, too. Backs of furniture, undersides of drawers, and anything that looks like even the smallest amount of stuff can be hid. Good preppers are experts at protecting their stash." Suddenly she was giggling like a schoolgirl.

"The hell's wrong with her?" Daryl asked Robert.

"I think she's just excited that she finally gets to use all that information that the rest of us thought was stupid before the turn. Sorry." The dark boy said.

"What for?"

"My sister's weird. She gets excited about weird things, like prepping." He shrugged. They were settling down around the living room. "To be honest, all of us thought she was crazy before things went to shit."

"Robert, watch your language." Leah chastised.

"Sorry, mom. But, seriously, sis has always been a little strange. I'm not complaining, though. She's kept us alive this far. It was her that actually taught me and Collin how to do most of the things we know. Michael just kinda expected us to know how to do it all without...y'know. But, sis taught us," he pulled a worn paperback out of his back pocket. "This was one of the books she had bought before. It was a birthday present two years ago. Afterwards, people cleared out everything else, trying to learn quickly so they didn't die."

Daryl took the book to look at the cover. "Too bad it didn't do much to help 'em." On the cover, it showed a worn picture of a knife, a compass, and a fire. The title read _Special Forces Survival Guide: Wilderness Survival Skills From The World's Most Elite Military Units._ "Hmm. Kinda a weird thing to give a kid for a birthday."

"Like I said, she's weird. You can borrow it if you want. I've read all the way through it. You might even learn something you didn't already know." He was answered by a non-commental grunt. Knowing that it was the best he'd get out of him, he went about his business.

"Jackpot!" Collin yelled from the other room, only to be hushed by everyone else. "Sorry! Sis, check this out!" The older Stringer boy came in with an armful of bandages, ointment, aspirin, and a giant first aid kit. On top, there was a variety of jerky in plastic bags labeled. Maggie had come back in from the bathroom with a handgun and a couple of mags wrapped in plastic and taped shut. All around the house, people were pulling this and that, from knives to medicine, toothpaste to cookies, out of random nooks and crannies. Soon they had a rather delightful pile in the middle of the floor. For the first time in a week, they would go to bed with full bellies, in a safe place.

Diane noticed Lori looking around, shifting uncomfortably in her spot by her son. Knowing that look, Diane got up to grab some cat litter she had found in the closet. As she passed the older woman, she tapped her shoulder and motioned with her head to follow her. They went into the bathroom, some of the group watching them curiously. Stopping only a moment, Diane also grabbed some trash bags out of her bag. Once in the bathroom, Diane turned to Lori.

"Pregnancy sucks." Lori looked at her wide eyed. "I remember how it was, even in the early months. Water goes right through you, gotta pee constantly. We don't have any water to spare for flushing the toilet, so we'll have to make do." She used the toilet seat to hold a trash bag open in the bowl, then she scooped a couple handfuls of cat litter into the bottom. "Here. When you get done, just put another handful or so, enough to cover your business." Diane smiled kindly at her, then made to leave. Lori stopped her.

"Thank you. I know I haven't done anything to deserve anything from anyone. But, thank you."

"We're a group, Lori. We have to look out for one another." Glancing at the toilet, she said, "Do your thing." With that, she left, closing the door behind her.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen~ Chasing Waterfalls**_

_**A/N: So, I actually just started up with this story again...and I realized that I have two characters from two different stories named Diane. :( Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. Besides, I was running out of good names. On with the show.**_

Diane had volunteered to take the first watch so everyone else could get some sleep. Even after only a week, they were already looking a little worse for wear. Lori and Leah were the worst, since they were the most susceptible to sickness. All the weight her mother had put on in the weeks they had been at the farm was starting to melt off again. Whenever she slept, it seemed like she was plagued nightmares, tossing and turning, sometimes muttering in her sleep. Diane pulled her glasses off to rub her eyes. She had stayed up much longer than she was supposed to, it had been two hours since she was supposed to have traded out. Her night vision sucked, and it was giving her a monster of a headache. Now that she wasn't moving, everything hurt. Her limbs were stiff and her back ached from where a walker had thrown her against a wall.

"Can you even see without your glasses?" Diane's head shot up to see Daryl plopping down next to her.

"Not really. Everything beyond where you're sitting is blurry. But, my head hurts."

"Then why the hell are you still up? You were supposed to get me up a while ago."

"You've been driving all day. You could use the rest."

"This is the third time this week, Max. You ain't any use to us if you can't even keep your eyes open." He pushed on her back, which caused her to wince. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"Like hell," he hissed as he forced her to turn around far enough for him to check her back. "You ain't bit, are ya?"

"No, it's nothing. Just a bruise." She was trying to twist away from Daryl, but he had a firm grip on her arm.

"Hold still, would ya?" When he finally managed to push the back of her shirt up, he hissed at the sight. He only had the shirt halfway up, but there were bruises all the way up. "_Just a bruise_ my ass, woman." He ran a finger over one of the larger ones at the bottom of her ribs. "You mighta broken somethin'." Lifting her shirt higher, despite her trying to move away, he traced them all the way up her spine, over her shoulder blades. He was surprised to see that she had two rather large wings tattooed on her upper back. On her right was a fluffy angel wing done with white accents around the edges, the other he recognized as a devil wing on her left with red tinges. Between them was a 'Coexist' tattoo in dark pinks and purples. He also noted the edge of a vine that ran from one side of her ribs, around the front, to the other side. He could only imagine how she had it placed.

Diane pulled away and shoved her shirt down. "I'm _fine_, Daryl. We've all had worse than a few bruises."

"When the hell did that happen?" When she didn't answer, he poked her in the ribs, getting a jolt out of her.

"Ow, shit, Daryl!" She rubbed the spot gingerly, giving him the evil eye. "I got thrown into a wall when we were clearing out one of the apartments down the hall. Fucker was built like a goddamn ox, threw his whole weight on me." Daryl said nothing as he nodded and then moved to pull the back of her shirt up again. "What are you doing?"

"Gotta check, make sure you didn't break somethin'."

"And you know how to figure out whether a vertebra is fractured?"

"Can't be much different than a rib."

Diane pulled away. "It's a lot different than a rib. Ribs are smooth enough that you can feel for a fracture. Spinal bones are knobby and weird, it's almost impossible to determine without an x-ray."

"Woman, shut up and turn around." He stared at her with a level look, not backing down. Diane just groaned in frustration and faced away from him. He pulled her shirt up to her shoulders, grabbing her hand to make her hold it there. Starting at the top, where the bruises started, he felt his way around the bones and the muscles around them, checking for tears as well. It was slow going, as he really didn't know what he was looking for. When he got to the strap of her bra, he stopped for a moment, trying to figure out how to go about it. Finally, he just pulled it away from her back and placed his hand underneath it. Diane straightened up at the sudden change of pressure, a small noise of pain managing to escape before she shoved a fist in her mouth and bit down. Towards the bottom of her spine, where her hips rose up, he felt a small gap in the muscle. _Damn_. He noticed the way she was tensing, despite the fact that he could not see her face, and she wasn't saying anything, he knew if hurt. "Feels like you tore somethin'. May have to put you outta commission for a while, til it heals up."

"Like hell. Y'all need me." Diane spun around, yanking her shirt down as she did.

"Yeah, we do. But, you ain't no good to anyone messed up like that. You move wrong, put too much pressure on it the wrong way, _bam_, more than likely dead by the time someone gets there to help. If not, then you're laid up for weeks until you heal. Even then, you probably won't be able to move right after that."

"And how do you know all that, Mr. Smarty-pants?" Daryl clammed up, looking down at his crossbow, which apparently became the most interesting thing in the room, as he began picking at some dried walker blood from where he had smacked one across the face. "Daryl?"

He cleared his throat, "Uh...my-my brother. He used to be in the army, got in a fight, got messed up pretty bad. He used it as an excuse to lay around after he got sent back, high as a fuckin' kite, all day."

"I see..." At the tone of Diane's voice, the hunter's head shot up.

"What the hell do you see?"

Diane gave a gentle smile. "An awful lot, despite these bad eyes." With that, she stood, stretching her back as she went. "Well, I guess I'm off to bed. Enjoy your watch." Daryl watched her lay down on her sleeping bag, saw the way that she winced when she put her weight on the giant ass bruise. Diane grabbed a spare pillow and turned on her side, stuffing it between her knees, which caused Daryl to raise an eyebrow. Not that she saw it. Sure enough, she was passed out within a few moments of laying down. He waited for nearly half and hour to make sure she was actually asleep before moving away from his post.

Hershel made a small noise in his throat when Daryl nudged him awake with his foot. The old man looked up at the archer suspiciously, about to ask him what he wanted. Daryl only put a finger to his lips and nodded towards the door. Quietly as possible, the pair of them snuck between the sleeping forms of their group, out into the hallway. Hershel had enough sense to close the door before he turned back to Daryl.

"Mind tellin' me why your wakin' me up in the middle of the night?" He groused.

"Diane's hurt."

The vet immediately straightened up. "What happened? When?"

"When we were clearin' out the apartment. She got thrown into something by a walker. Messed her back up pretty bad. She's got a torn muscle, right 'bout here." Daryl pointed at his own back for example. "Told her she ain't gonna be doin' much of anything for a while."

"I'm guessing she didn't care for that very much?"

The younger man nodded. "Girl's gonna get herself hurt worse if she ain't careful. Probably won't listen to me."

"So, you want me to bring it up, give her a doctor's opinion?" Crossing his arms, Hershel gave him a kind look. "And just how do you suppose I do that? As I'm guessing you don't want her to think you told me."

"I don't know, old man. Tell her she's walking' weird or something." They stood there for a moment, one looking at the other. "Look, all I know is, we ain't got enough fighters in this group as is. She's one of the best, the only one I've seen be so tricked out with enough sense to know how to take care of things. But, if that girl gets any worse than she is, we might not make it out there."

"Is that admiration I hear, Daryl?" Hershel chuckled at the growl that emitted from the man before him. "Nothing wrong with admitting that you care, son."

"Why don't you mind your own business? Just make sure she don't kill herself." Daryl said nothing more, but went back inside to take up his post for the next three hours.

)0(

The next morning, Diane felt nothing short of shitty. Despite the amount of sleep she'd gotten the night before, her back was screaming at her as she rolled up her sleeping bag. They would stay in town as long as it took to go through every place, then pack up as much as they could in the vehicles and move on. No place was safe enough to stay for an extended period of time. As much as she wasn't looking forward to getting into anymore scraps today, Diane didn't have a choice. The group needed her. She had gone about collecting some powdered eggs and jerky, what was left of the bread from the farm, and one of the jams that was left in the apartment. Before anyone else was up, including Daryl (who was seemingly always awake before sunrise), she started cooking breakfast. The others slowly woke up to the smell of food, and blearily made their way to sit around the can of gel fuel she was using as a stove. One by one, everyone was handed a plate of well seasoned eggs, a couple strips of jerky, and bread slathered with strawberry jam. A balanced breakfast indeed. No body spoke much, until everyone was finished eating. Then Rick decided it would be a good time to plan their progress through the town.

"We'll use this apartment as our base. Start with the other places in the building, then work our way out from there. Closest place would be the pharmacy next door. It looked like it was boarded up pretty tight when we came through last night, so maybe it wasn't picked through."

"If we're gonna be on the move," Diane was sitting uncomfortably against the wall, doing her best not to wince at the pain in her lower back, "we're gonna need to make sure we have things we can use for fire. Now, don't get me wrong, I hate the idea of burning books, its basically blasphemy to me. But, there are some that we can use for that. It would be a good idea to keep some on hand for entertainment, too."

"That's a good point, Diane." Rick patted her shoulder, not noticing when her face screwed up in pain. "She's right. There's a library down the street, we'll get that cleared out, pick a few boxes worth of things that we don't mind getting rid of. A couple more boxes of books to keep us busy. Gotta make sure we have as much knowledge as possible, right?" The others nodded along, agreeing with them. Only Carol seemed unsure.

"Is that really what we need to be focusing on right now?" She breathed. "Shouldn't we be filling the cars up with food, an-and medical supplies, and gas?! What's wrong with you people?"

"What's wrong with us?" Diane got up, a little slower than she normally would have. "What wrong with _you_, Carol?"

The older woman narrowed her eyes at her. "I just don't think we should be bothering with crates of thing that are going to take up valuable space. Yes, I agree with the whole fire thing, but do we really need to keep them around for anything else?" Lori tried calm her, only to have her hand pushed away roughly.

"You wait. Wait until there's nothing else for you to do, and your thoughts are so consumed by fear of what could happen that you're paralyzed." Everyone else stopped and stared at Diane. Even her own mother. Only Collin and Robert seemed to understand what she was saying. "I've been there, Carol. I have been so worried, so paranoid that I didn't sleep for more than half an hour a day for weeks on end. I've been to the point where I was so strung out I almost shot Rob because I though he was a walker."

"And you're saying books made it all better? Is that it?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, excuse me if I don't believe it." Carol stood to get up in Diane's face, something she'd never have done in a million years before now.

"Back off, Carol." Diane warned.

"Or what?"

Again, Lori was there, trying to defuse the situation. "Alright, I think we're all a little on edge."

"That's a little bit of an understatement." Hershel chimed in.

Diane narrowed her eyes at Carol. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't back off, I will."

"Oh, I don't think you will." Carol looked smug as Daryl edged his way towards the younger woman's back.

"And why's that?"

"You think none of us have noticed? I heard you and Daryl talking last night." Everyone's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" Daryl stepped up.

"I heard the two of you. I saw you looking at her back, heard you telling her that she got hurt. And yet, you're here, letting her make decisions for the group when she obviously can't even take care of herself?"

Diane lost it. She launched herself at the older woman, screaming in pain as she did so. But, she only got one blow in before Daryl wrapped his arms around her middle and hauled her backwards, and Lori was hugging Carol, who was now sporting a bruised lip.

"Alright, that's enough!" Rick yelled, standing between them. He looked back and forth at both of them, not really knowing which to address first. He settled on the most pressing issue. "Diane, why didn't you tell us you were hurt?"

"Because we can't afford to slow down." The woman in question hissed back.

"Be that as it may," Rick put a hand gingerly on her shoulder. "You should have told us. It wouldn't slow us down, just would have made us a little more cautious. For the sake of the group, we need to know these things. That goes for all of us. If one of us is hurt, the others need to know, so we can plan if I had sent you out there without knowing? What if you were loading things up, hurt yourself worse? Or we got attacked? What then?" Then he turned to Carol. "I know you're upset with me, and I know that there are some calls you don't approve of, but she's right, you don't get to make choices for the rest of the group when you can barely defend yourself." Rick turned back to the pair of them, watching for a moment as the hunter helped Diane sit down. "Daryl, I need to speak with you...outside."

_Shit_, he thought. Making sure that she was in a comfortable position, he looked to Hershel, silently asking if he would check her over. Once the older man had nodded, he followed Rick out the door. "Look, I know I shoulda said something-"

"You're damn right. If Carol hadn't said anything, would you have let her go out there, injured?"

"Hell no!" Daryl hissed. "I told Hershel about it this morning, asked him to say somethin' to her bout it." Rick's eyebrow raised at him. "Yeah, yeah. Damn coward of me, I know. But, shit, I wasn't bout to be the one on the receiving end of that girl's wrath. I'm not fuckin' suicidal, man."

"No, you're right." Rick put his hands on his hips, looking down at his boots as they scuffed at the floor. "After seeing her fight...I wouldn't want to be on the end of that either." Raising his eyes back to Daryl's face, he said, "I imagine she asked you not to say anything?"

Daryl responded with an affirmative grunt. "I can understand why. Bein' laid up while everyone else tries to baby ya, shit ain't fun."

Rick laughed at that. "No, I suppose it's not. Come on, we need to get a move on. We're burnin' daylight."

When the two of them reentered the apartment living room, they were greeted by the sound of Diane cussing as Hershel poked at places on her back to see what was messed up and how bad. Daryl heard an intake of breath from the man beside him as they looked on. Diane's back was even worse than the night before. The bruising was darker now, more widespread than he could see in the dark. Her tattoos were barely visible under the discoloring. Colin sat in front of his sister, letting her lean on him and squeeze his hand, probably doing more damage to himself than giving comfort to her.

"Mother_fucker_!" Diane yelled when the old man hit the dent in her back.

"Shit, sis!" Colin exclaimed when she tightened her grip even harder, trying to pull away.

Daryl tapped the his other shoulder. "I got this, kid. Go get your momma to check your hand." Hershel had the good grace to wait until the two men had switched places before continuing his examination. "C'mere, Max." He sat down and let her grab his hand. At this point, he was pretty sure she didn't care who she was holding onto, as long as she had some way to tough through the pain. Immediately, she wrapped her fingers around his palm and leaned her head against his shoulder. The action made him tense.

"Alright, darlin, you've got something out of place here. I'm gonna push down on it. Ready?" She nodded. "One...two..." _Crack!_

Diane buried her face into his arm as she screamed, her one hand tightening until it ground his bones together, the other reaching up to grab the back of his shirt. Everyone else in the room winced, Rick checking outside to make sure no walkers were drawn by the noise. The young woman was strung tight in pain, before her body slumped forward and she whimpered. Daryl's arm automatically went around her to keep her steady. "S'alright. You all done, doc?"

"I think she'll be alright as long as she takes it easy for a while. You were right in assuming that she was badly injured. Diane, sweetheart, are you listening?"

"Mmh-hm." She nodded against Daryl's chest.

"Good. Now, you have a minor tear in this muscle right here," he gently touched the area, making her wince again. "You can't lift anything, bend too low, or fight. Do you understand me?"

"No fighting, got it." She gave him a weak thumbs up.

"Here, take these, they'll help with the pain." He handed her two ibuprofen, which she gladly took, swallowing them down with a mouthful of water. "Luckily, we happen to have some of that salve you found yesterday. Should help speed the healing process a bit." The smell of icy mint filled the room as he opened the container. He hesitated for a moment. "Do you mind if I put this on your back?"

"I'll do it, Hershel." Leah stood from her spot, taking the salve from him. The old man made room for her. "It's ok, baby girl. This might sting a little."

"Mom, with you a little always means a lot." Diane murmured. The feel of her lips moving against the bare skin on Daryl's shoulder created an uncomfortable twitch in his jeans. Of course, stoic as ever, he gave no sign of what happened. "Just get it over with."

At first, she tensed, but eventually the sensation of her mother's soft hands rubbing the soothing substance into her muscles made her relax. It wasn't long before she was actually snoring, having been lulled into a dreamless sleep.

Leah just continued to rub, trying to catch the eye of the man sitting on the other side of her daughter. When he finally did look at her, she smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?" He whispered, trying not to wake the girl still leaned against him.

"For not letting her be a tough girl. I know you told Hershel about it. Lord knows this child would kill herself trying to act invincible." Finishing up with the last swipe of the ointment, she lowered Diane's shirt and ran a gentle hand through her hair. "It's good that there's someone other than me to call her out on her shit. So, thank you. Anyway, looks like she's gonna be out for a bit. Do you mind putting her down for me?"

Daryl raised his eyebrow. "She's a grown ass woman, not a baby."

"I know," Leah chuckled. "I just meant that she's a bit too big for me to carry now. If you could, just help me get her to her pallet, then we'll be out of your hair until she wakes up." The hunter shrugged, shifting the sleeping woman in his arms so that he could pick her up. Her bedroll wasn't very far, so it took him about two steps before he knelt down and laid her down. "Thank you. I'm sure the others would be grateful for your help now. I think their ready to go pick through the buildings."

)0(

"I'm telling you right now, that girl is going to get us killed." Carol whispered, sifting through a hamper in one of the other apartments.

"Come on," Glenn hung his head. "I think you're being a bit harsh. Diane hasn't done anything to deserve that."

"How can you defend someone who runs off on their own in the middle of the night, and pretends not to be injured? How can you think that's ok?!"

The asian man turned to her. "I don't see you complaining when Daryl does it." This rendered her speechless. "Exactly. He does the exact same thing, all the time. You just don't like the fact that she called you out, Carol. She's nice, she a great fighter. Girl's a badass. Her not putting up with you saying people in this group are bad and will get us killed. To be completely honest, I agree with her. Besides, if Daryl likes her, how bad can she really be?"

)0(

The day passed quickly. With the new knowledge that Diane had shared with them, they were able to find quite a bit, and all the cars were now filled with gas from cars in the area. Daryl had left to go hunting, and returned long after the sun had set, not wanting to be away from the camp for too long. Speaking of the woman, when everyone returned for the evening meal, she was still passed out. Rick had called Hershel and Daryl out into the hall after they saw her laying there.

"Are you sure there wasn't anything else wrong?" The cowboy asked. "Internal bleeding? Did she say anything about hitting her head?"

"There wasn't any sign of any of that. Rick, it's very possible that she is simply exhausted."

"I gotta agree with the doc." Daryl interjected. "Max ain't been sleepin'. Every time she takes watch at night, she stays up. Won't wake me up for shit unless I get my own damn self up and make her go to sleep. Besides that, she said that her heads been hurtin' from staying up so late, says her night vision sucks."

Rick ran a hand over his beard, contemplating their words. "Alright. Alright, so she's been awake a lot...got hurt. I can understand why she'd sleep a little bit longer. But, all day?"

"Stress does strange thing to the body, Rick. God only knows how much that poor girl has really been doing behind our backs. Between the extra watches, riding all day, and then helping Lori with the baby, she's bound to be tired. It's only logical that her body would try to catch up on the sleep that it's missed."

At that moment, the door opened and Lori poked her head out. "Hey. Sorry to interrupt, but...um..."

"What is it?" Rick turned to her. The woman's eyes shifted to the other men. When she motioned for him to lean it, he did. She whispered something in his ear. The other two watched his eyes widen as he looked at his wife. "I see. Did she tell you where she left it?" He asked her.

"Probably in the back of the truck," Lori nodded. "Also, if you could grab her a change of clothes, she said she'd be very grateful."

"Ok, I'll get it. Help her out, will you?" The sheriff gently pushed her back into the apartment as she nodded again. Suddenly, Rick started laughing.

"What is it?" Daryl asked.

He shook his head, still chuckling. "Diane's awake."

"She ok?"

"Fine, fine." Another wave of laughter. "Poor kid just can't catch a break." At the look his companions gave him, he grinned. "At least now we know why she was so tired. PMS." He broke down laughing again.

Hershel seemed to understand, and started chuckling as well. Though Daryl was still in the dark. "The hell is that? Some kinda disease?"

"I guess you could say that." Rick sighed, trying to catch his breath. Patting the hunter's shoulder, he wandered down the hall.

"Where the hell you going?"

"Diane needs...well, she needs some stuff. They're down in the truck. I'll be right back."

Daryl turned to look at the old man beside him. "The hell?"

"I'll explain when you're older." He smirked, making his way back into the apartment. "But it would definitely explain her animosity towards Carol lately."

Following him, he noticed that the boys were chuckling between them. Beth and Lori stood at the bathroom door. In the older woman's hands, a bloody pair of jeans hung.

"Diane, sweetie, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We all have accidents sometimes." Lori said through the door as he made his way towards them. From within, there was a groan.

"What's going on?" He asked, eyeing the pants in her hand.

Lori shoved them behind her back. "Lady problems. Everything's alright." Another groan of pain punctuated the statement, followed by the sound of retching. Both of the women made a face.

"I had no idea it could be that bad." Beth winced. "Mine are usually pretty light."

"Different women, different bodies, honey. Diane," she knocked on the door again. "Can we come in?"

"Go away." She sounded miserable.

Daryl pushed past them, despite their protests. "Max? You alright in there."

On the other side of the door, Diane's head shot up from leaning against the cool porcelain of the bathtub. _Shit_. "I'm fine."

"You sick or something?" Beth and Lori looked at each other, confused as to how this grown man could not know what was happening.

"It's nothing. I'm ok." But, her words were contradicted by the sound of her throwing up.

Trying the handle, he found it locked. Lori tried to stop him, but he pushed her back. Pulling a small knife from his pocket, he slipped it into the crack of the door and managed to jimmy the door. It swung open, revealing Diane still crouched over the toilet dry heaving. "Max?" He knelt beside her, surprised that she wasn't wearing any pants. Though, if she was wearing underwear, he couldn't tell, because her long shirt hung down over her thighs.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?!" She yelled, pushing him away, which just made her screw up her face in pain.

"Diane, I am so sorry." Lori said from the door. "We tried to keep him out.

Daryl's hand went to her forehead briefly before she swatted it away. "You ain't got a fever." In her new position (sitting back against the tub), he saw the blood that had made it's way down her inner thighs. "What the hell?"

She started laughing. "You're totally clueless, aren't you?" Suddenly, she pressed on her lower belly, moaning. "Where the hell is Rick?"

"Right here, kiddo." He said from the around the corner, his arm bent at the elbow to hand her the bag with her things in it. "Daryl, how about we leave the lady to her business?" The man in question looked back at her. Diane nodded, motioning for him to go.

Once they were gone, Lori told Beth to go help with dinner, then closed the door behind her. "That was strange. I've never seen Daryl worry like that."

"Really? I have. Usually about Carol, or the boys. He was probably just trying to make sure I wasn't dying. Do you really think he doesn't know what a period is?" She asked, pulling a pack of wet wipes out of the bag first and turning her back to the other woman, lifting her leg onto the edge of the tub.

Lori snorted. "I would hope so. You don't lead the kind of life that man did with the brother he had and _not_ at least know the generics of it."

"Ugh, thank god for wet wipes, right?" Diane groaned again, this time about the growing pile of bloody material on the floor. "Christ almighty."

"No wonder you slept all day. I don't think anyone is gonna blame you for taking a rest day now." The older woman held out a tampon for her. "Have you always had them this bad?"

"It wasn't as bad when I was on birth control. But, recently, it's been getting worse. Stress and malnutrition I guess."

"I guess." Lori nodded.

Diane picked up a pair of clean underwear, slipping them most of the way on, then placed a pad in them as well. Once she was done getting dressed, she picked up her soiled clothes. "You think we have enough water to spare?" She asked.

"I'm sure there's a pond or something. I'll get you a bottle of water for now and you can soak it in the tub. Best not to leave it where the men will see it."

"Right."

)0(

_Meanwhile_

Rick couldn't stop laughing. He was bent at the waist, leaning against the door. Daryl, on the other hand, was beet red, picking at the mysterious stains on his weapon. They had stepped outside to do a sweep, and the sheriff had taken the opportunity to explain what had happened.

"You seriously didn't know?" He finally sobered up.

"I knew _about _it. Didn't never have a girl around long enough to actually deal with it." He gruffed. "Merle used to joke about it. Didn't know it was that bad."

Clearing his throat, Rick chuckled again. "It's worse for some. Lori never really had it too bad. The fact that her brothers were over there snickering means that this is nothing new for them. Like I said, kid can't catch a break. Too bad we don't have some midol or something. Aspirin only goes so far for that kinda thing."

"Damn." Pulling out his pack of cigarettes, he was suddenly glad he'd gotten them from her earlier and hadn't waited until now to ask her find them. He knew enough from his brother to know that she might have taken his head off if he tried. "How long do you reckon, 'fore she's back on her feet?"

"I dunno. Lord knows women can be pretty badass."

)0(

_**A/N: Alright, I had to stop it here. I didn't really like this chapter for various reasons. First off, I have ideas for later on that I really want to get to. Also...I don't know, I just didn't like it. Next chapter, time skip, because it's a really long fuckin' winter.**_

_**Let me know what you think, ta-ta.**_

_**AcaciaDawn105**_


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